Cora Clarke

Cora Louise Clarke, 86, of Hobbs, died Monday, October 21, 2019 at Mesilla Valley Hospice in Las Cruces.

She was born on April 4, 1933, in Portage, Michigan, the daughter of Sherman (III) and Rosetta May Howe.

Cora graduated from Boyne City, Michigan High School in 1951, and moved to Chicago, Illinois upon graduation to work as a nanny, after which she also worked as a nanny in Nashville, Tennessee. She later moved to Columbus, Ohio, where she met and married Charles Clarke in 1960. They divorced in 1974. Cora moved to Hobbs in 1962 and worked at the Central Office for the Hobbs School System from 1972 until her retirement in 1994.

Cora loved cheering on the Hobbs Eagles during football and basketball games and worked the ticket counters for both events for many years. Cora never missed any of her daughters’ band and choir concerts or gymnastics meets, and she was well known for the wonderful Christmas goodies she would bake and give to friends in Hobbs.

Cora was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Doris Crump; and a great grandson, Zackery Clarke Stafford. Cora is survived by her daughters, Shawn Olswold of Swansea, Massachusetts, Diana Clarke of Jacksonville, Florida, and Denise (Bo) Franklin of Cedar Falls, Iowa; five grandchildren, Heidi, Holli, Sam, Brooke, and Mitch; 15 great-grandchildren; a sister, Margaret (Russ) Kilbourn of Denison, Texas; and three nieces and two nephews.