Sandra Clark

Sandra Sue Seymour Clark, age 69, passed away on Friday, May 16, 2014, at her home in Euless, Texas, after a courageous battle with lung cancer. Sandra was born to E.J. and Francis Seymour on August 9, 1944, in Stephenville, Texas. Starting when she was a young girl, Sandra was always fiercely independent. She used to pretend that she was Shirley Temple, and had the curls and smile to prove it. A little later she insisted that she was not Sandra Sue, but cowboy crooner Gene Autry! She was a big help to her mother when brother Ronie came along in 1948, and even more so when brother Monty was born in 1956.

She graduated Salutatorian from Lipan High School in 1962 and attended Tarleton State College, in Stephenville, Texas, where she met Benny Glynn Clark of Joy, Texas. It was truly love at first sight! They were married on October 4, 1963 at her parents’ home in Lipan, Texas. She left college and worked full-time as a bookkeeper and at the bank, supporting her husband’s educational goals. He graduated from Tarleton with a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, and went on to receive his Master’s degree in Agricultural Education at Texas Tech University. Upon graduating, they moved to Azle, Texas, where Benny completed his student teaching. Unable to conceive on their own, they made the loving and brave decision to adopt. Their first child Clay was born on October 9, 1970, in Fort Worth and came home Halloween Day. They called him their little spook!

In 1971, they moved to Wichita Falls, where Benny started the Vocational Agriculture department at Ryder High School, while also managing his family’s cattle ranch in Clay County, Texas. They adopted their second child, a beautiful daughter, whom they named Kelly Anne. She was born in Tyler, Texas, on March 18, 1973. Kelly was a living doll! Benny’s mother Hazel said she was afraid to hold her, for fear she might drop and break her. With the family of four complete, the Cla-Kel “C/K” brand was born. Hazel, or Maw-maw as she was known to her grandchildren, passed away after losing her own battle with lung cancer in 1977. She was buried in a private cemetery on the Clark Ranch in Joy. (Per Sandra’s wishes, this will also be the place where her and Benny’s joint marker and combined ashes will be placed.)

In 1978, the Clark family moved to Stephenville, where Benny maintained an office at Tarleton State University as he traveled the state as Area IV Vocational Agriculture Supervisor for the Texas Education Agency. Sandra worked for the Dean of Students at Tarleton, where she was widely known as “Mom,” and became a popular member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. They raised their family there until 1986, when Benny moved to the TEA headquarters in Austin to serve as Executive Secretary of the Texas FFA. The family soon followed, moving to Hays County for a couple of years until Benny took the opportunity of a lifetime at The State Fair of Texas in Dallas, serving as Associate Director of Livestock and Agriculture.

The family moved to Rockwall, Texas, where both children graduated high school. In 1988, Sandra had started working for Sullivan Transfer Company as an Exhibitor Services Representative, assisting clients at trade shows in Dallas and Fort Worth. Once the children left home, Benny and Sandra moved to a townhouse in Euless, Texas. Benny continued at the State Fair of Texas for 17 years, becoming Director and eventually Vice President of Livestock & Agriculture. Sandra continued to work as a Senior ES Rep for Freeman in Dallas, which had acquired Sullivan Transfer Company, and later at Freeman’s new Customer Support Center in Grand Prairie, until her retirement in 2009. After retiring, she continued to travel part-time as an ES Rep to trade shows all over the United States. In her spare time she loved to play slots, especially at Winstar World Casino in Oklahoma.

Benny passed away in 2004, after celebrating 40 years of marriage to Sandra, but she made sure that the family retained their remaining portion of the original homestead purchased in 1899, when part of the Clark family – founders of Plano, Texas and former Peters’ Colonists – moved from Collin to Clay County. Benny’s homeplace, built by his father Ben L. Clark in 1919, still stands today. Benny and Sandra worked hard and sacrificed much to make sure the ranch survived and flourished, through many droughts and market fluctuations, so that it could be passed on to their children.

Sandra was preceded in death by her grandfather Edward J. Seymour in 1963; her brother Ronie J. Seymour and sister-in-law Thea Jo Gilliam Seymour, tragically, in 1967; father-in-law Ben L. Clark in 1968; grandfather Boston Perry Rasberry in 1971; mother-in-law Hazel Peirce Clark in 1977; grandmother Jewel Tolbert Seymour in 1983; grandmother Myrtie Little Rasberry in 1988; and her uncle Earl Franklin Rasberry in 1992. Sandra lost her beloved husband Benny G. Clark in 2004, and her devoted father Tolbert E.J. Seymour in 2009.

Sandra leaves behind her mother Francis Louise Rasberry Seymour of Lipan, Texas; her brother Monty Seymour and sister-in-law Leslie Seymour also of Lipan; son Clayton Kyle Clark of Joy, Texas; daughter Kelly Anne Clark Blair, son-in-law Andy Blair, and granddaughter Kacey Anne Blair, of Bullard, Texas; grandson Toby Blair of Granbury, Texas; as well as her precious dog Cuddles. She will be missed by her aunt Mary Jo Rasberry Donahoo and uncle Ollie Donahoo, of Granbury, Texas; nephews Jake and Ronie Seymour and their families, and so many other family members and friends, it would be hard to name them all. In addition, Freeman was more than an employer, it was a huge extended family for Sandra, and she will be dearly missed by numerous people throughout the company and industry.

Sandra always brought life and joy to whomever she met – friend and neighbor alike. She never met a stranger. She would talk to anyone. Sandra was a devoted wife, mother, sister, employee, and friend. She loved birds, and children, and making people laugh. She was always full of energy – even through her cancer. She always made fun of herself, was forgiving to a fault, and did not have a mean bone in her body. Sandra’s passing will forever leave a void in all who had the pleasure of knowing and loving her.

Sandra’s life will be celebrated at a memorial service officiated by Dr. Randy Wild, on Sunday, May 25th @ 4:00 pm at Wiley Funeral Home in Granbury, Texas.

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