Patricia [Lee Hughes] Clarke of Coral Gables, Florida passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 14 with family at her bedside. She was 84 years old.
Widow of longtime Miami Herald travel editor, Jay Clarke, and daughter of former major league baseball player, Roy J. Hughes, Pat was born in New Orleans on October 1, 1934 and grew up with her older sister living and traveling widely in the United States and the Caribbean following her father’s baseball career. Arriving in Florida in the mid-1950s, Pat developed a 25-year career in the household goods moving and storage industry, rising to General Manager and, eventually, President, of a large moving company.
Following her 1963 marriage to Jay Clarke, Pat continued her childhood path of travel and adventure, traversing the country with Jay and exploring the world as she followed his travel-writing career. Traveling by ‘planes, trains and automobiles’ – and cruise liners — she visited every continent, virtually all parts of the U.S. and Canada, most countries of Europe, and many nations of Asia, Latin America and Africa with her husband, Jay.
A devout and pious Catholic, Pat was a longtime parishioner and Emmaus group member of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Coral Gables, where she long resided. Pat served five terms as President of the St. Augustine’s Council of Catholic Women, was a past President of the South Dade Council of Catholic Women, and served on the Board of the Miami Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. She also served as Social Chair of the Daughters of Isabella, an international Catholic organization.
Pat Clarke was a dedicated community leader and indefatigable fund-raiser for community organizations in South Florida. A founding member of the Coral Gables Community Foundation, Pat served as President of the Miami Women’s Guild and of the Patrons of the Museum of Science, and as a Board member of the Gilded Lilies Auxiliary of Easter Seals Miami-Dade. A passionate supporter of education, Pat served as President of the Ponce de Leon Junior High PTSA and of the Coral Gables High School Booster Club. She served for a time on the Board of the United Negro College Fund and as Dade County Coordinator for the Red Ribbon ‘Say No to Drugs’ campaign of the 1990s. For her service, she received the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year award from Dade County Public Schools and the Red Cross Spectrum Award from BellSouth.
Music and gardening were among Pat’s consuming passions. She and her husband were members of the Coral Gables Music Club (which her mother-in-law helped to found in 1939) and she took enormous pride in the musical careers launched and advanced by the Club’s scholarship programs, for which she was a key fund-raiser. Pat also served on the Board of the Murray Dranoff Foundation and its duo piano competition, and as Vice President of the University of Miami’s Ring Theater.
In addition to her role as a founding member of the Coral Gables Community Foundation, Pat was a founding member of the Pinecrest Garden Club, and has served as District XII Director of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs; as President of South Miami Garden Club; as chair of Flor-Expo, an international flower show commemorating the centennial of the City of Miami; and on the Board of the Coral Gables Garden Club, for which she twice chaired its annual Holiday Home Tour. A member of The Kampong, Fairchild Tropical Garden, and the Flowering Tree Society, Pat was honored as a Life Member of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, of the Deep South Region of Garden Clubs, of the National Garden Clubs, and of the Dade County Council of Garden Club Presidents.
Pat (and her late husband Jay’s) other great passion was bridge – which she played regularly for decades until just a few weeks ago with a number of dear friends and bridge groups in her community.
The role Pat was most proud of, and the one that rested squarely in the center of her life, was within her family. “Oh MY” (as her grandchildren affectionately called her) was the proud mother of three children and grandmother to four grandchildren that she adored. As President, Chairman, Chief, Den Mom, Coach, Cook, “Bus Driver”, Spiritual Leader, and organizer of all things good and wholesome, she was the ultimate “MOM”.
Pat is survived by her children, Anne Patrice Clarke, Dougan Hughes Clarke, and Paul Creusot Clarke, as well as four grandchildren, Rose Patrice (14), Grayson Hughes (9), Colton Charles (7), Saige Amelia (1). She is also survived by sister, Joyce Vidal Williams of Asheville, NC , and loving brother, G. Phillip Hughes of the Washington D.C. area.
Mass of Christian Burial for Pat Clarke will take place on Wednesday, December 5th, 9:30am at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, Coral Gables, FL.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Pat Clarke’s memory to the Coral Gables Music Club – Scholarship Fund:
checks made payable to:
“CORAL GABLES MUSIC CLUB – Scholarship Fund”
c/o MARGARET SEROPPIAN
1434 ROBBIA AVENUE
CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA 33146
