Laura (Wood) Clark

Laura Clark, daughter of the late Oscar and Verna (Sullens) Wood, was born on September 19, 1922 in Rayborn, Missouri, and departed this life on April 7, 2013 in Springfield, Missouri. She was 90 years, 6 months and 19 days of age.
Laura grew up in Rayborn, Missouri and attended the Hopkins School. She was united in marriage to Elmer Jason Clark on September 9, 1939. Two children were born to this union, Joy and Bob. They made their home in Mtn. Grove, Missouri.
Laura worked at the Brown Shoe Company in Mtn. Grove as a seamstress for several years. She loved sewing for herself and her family members. She made quilts, dresses, and shirts that her family proudly wore.
Anytime the family needed an item mended, she’d come up with an idea to fix it right then. She attempted to teach several of her family members how to sew and share her hobby, whether it was making a quilt or sew a button. Some were better students and learners than others.
She also babysat her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family has many fond memories of “Mama,” as her grandchildren and great-grandchildren called her. She loved to have fun, smile, and laugh. Those around her knew to watch out when that twinkle came in her eyes. Her family loved swinging with her on the porch swing, playing the piano with her, singing songs, playing “Superman,” and having Sunday dinners at her house. One of the families fondest memories is of “Mama” making Christmas dinner and hearing “Papa” say, “dig in boys; if you don’t get full here, it’s your own fault.”
Laura was a very giving person. Her cookie jar was always full of Little Debbie snack cakes and her cabinets were always available with items to share and borrow. She wouldn’t let you pay her back for anything. She would always just say she bought it “four for a dollar,” whether it was a can of veggies or a jug of milk.
Later in life, Laura moved in to the Hartville Nursing Care Facility in Hartville, Missouri. She loved all the people and thoroughly enjoyed playing bingo, attending the church services and Bible study sessions. It was noted on several occasions that Laura witnessed to several workers and residents of the nursing home. The family deeply appreciated the wonderful care that was provided for her.
Laura attended the Hopewell Church in Graff, north of Mtn. Grove, where she played the piano and taught the adult Sunday School Class for many years. She knew the Bible quite well and could find various verses and scriptures quite easily. When she was teased, and a verse was quoted wrong, she would always make it correct.
Besides her parents and siblings, she was preceded in death by her husband: Elmer Jason Clark in 1997; a daughter: Joy Lavelle (Clark) Ratterree; a grandson-in-law: Douglas Robert Walters; and by a great-granddaughter: Amanda Dawn Ratterree.
She is survived by her son: Bob and his wife, Linda; son-in-law: John Ratterree and his wife, Brexine; her grandchildren: Ed Ratterree and his wife, Sherri, Tom Ratterree and his wife, Carol, Laura Walters, and Dale Clark and his wife, Toni; her great-grandchildren: Sara Shannon and her husband, Keegan, Austin Clark, Ethan Clark, Aleah Clark, Sheela Walters, and Shane Walters; two brothers: Connie Wood and his wife, Beverly, and Mack Wood and his wife, Janie; and a host of other relatives, church family, and friends, who will miss her very much.

“I want us to be together in Heaven,
I want to march down the streets of pure gold;
I want to run through the fields of green clover,
See the mansions, smell the flowers, hear the singing, it’s all ours.
See the river of life flowing, feel the gentle breezes blowing.
I want us to be together in Heaven,”

Memorial Contributions:
The Gideons,

c/o the funeral home.