Maria Clarke Obituary

Maria Neisser Clarke, 95, wife of the late Ralph Fitzgerald Clarke, Lt. Col, US Army, died Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
Born in Nuremberg, Germany she was the daughter of the late Johann and Eva Stengel Neisser.
She was a devoted homemaker and housewife who raised four children. Maria had an extraordinary life by growing up in wartime Germany. She met her husband during the U.S. occupation and was married in the 16th century German Lutheran Church in Roth. Shortly thereafter, the couple were posted to Fort Gordon, Georgia where Maria was introduced to life in America. Maria shouldered the burden of the household while her husband was deployed for lengthy, dangerous assignments in two war zones, Korea and Vietnam. The next 41 years was spent in retirement in the home that she and her husband built in Madison, Mississippi. She moved to Greenville, South Carolina in 2015.
She is survived by four children, Eric J. Clarke (Linda) of La Plata, MD, Janet J. Denton of Orem, UT, Arlen Clarke (Carol) of Greenville, and Bruce G. Clarke (Debra); six grandchildren, Ryan Clarke, Christian Clarke, Andrea Hughbanks, Alyson Murray, Jonathan Clarke, Eric Denton; and four great-grandchildren, Annabell, Olivia, Landon, and Finley.
Maria was a lovely and elegant woman who could be a tenacious fighter for those things that were important to her. She admirably combined these qualities and her Christian faith throughout her life and in her last days.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, July 11, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Wounded Warriors at Wounded Warrior Project - Donate.
Friends are encouraged to share their favorite memories of Maria with the family by clicking on the button labeled "Share A Memory".