Susan Riley Clarke, educator, poet, and mother, died in her sleep on April 14, 2022 in Syracuse, New York. Ms. Clarke was known to her friends, family, and colleagues for her sense of flair, her purposeful and artful use of words, her advocacy for equity and justice, her warmth for children, nature and animals, and her love of the communities and beaches of Cape Cod. She was 71.

Ms. Clarke was born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from the Northampton School for Girls. Susan studied English Literature at Syracuse University, began her family, and later completed her bachelor’s degree in English at Westfield State College. She went on to gain her master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts. In the mid-1970s through the 1990s, Ms. Clarke taught high school English in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

While teaching high school English, Ms. Clarke returned to the University of Massachusetts and earned her educational doctorate degree. She then became a professor of education at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, where she stayed until her retirement. A student from Quinnipiac shared that Dr. Clarke was a ‘believer and a true supporter’ in and of the family of students that she taught and mentored, and that she had made a profound difference in her students’ college experiences and life choices.

Dr. Clarke led a writer’s life. She attended and led writing workshops and was an accomplished, published poet. Often, she wrote poems about her children or Cape Cod (frequently, her children and Cape Cod). In response to her words, a colleague and friend replied that “…this universe is changed every time you put your pen to parchment or your pencil to a ragged page torn from your young son’s school notebook”.

Anyone who knew Dr. Clarke knew of her immense love for her son, daughter, and grandchildren. She is survived by her daughter, Megan (Hart) of Marietta, New York, and son, Joshua (Kortright), of Belchertown, Massachusetts, along with her beloved grandchildren Kalyani, Quinn, Eli, and Luke. A celebration of Susan’s life will take place on Cape Cod in the fall.

From Leaving the Cape:

I am watching my little girl’s skinny legs

Scurry in and out white ocean foam like the terns.

I am making a check through empty rooms,

My children’s beach toys scattered into corners

Of thinking they are still two and four

On a sunny day at Skaket,

Where I’d chase them and scoop them up

Along the little bayside waves.

Christine Anne Pratt, 71, a thirty-year resident of Belchertown in Western MA, passed away on March 27, 2021 in Northampton, surrounded by close friends. Christine’s life was devoted to the service of mankind through work for social justice and racial amity and her lifetime commitment to spiritual development. Most of all, Christine wanted to touch people’s hearts, to inspire, and transform. She touched many hearts.

Christine was the daughter of Lyndon E. and Ann (neé Gray) Pratt and grew up in Norwell, MA. She graduated from Northampton School for Girls (now Williston Northampton School) and New England College, 1972, majoring in Education.

Throughout her school years, Christine was active in athletics, theater and the creative and literary arts. She acted in stage plays in Massachusetts and Connecticut. For over twenty years, Christine worked as a teacher and administrator in early childhood education. Both of her parents instilled in Christine a deep love and appreciation of literature. For the last two decades of her life, Christine developed her craft in writing and was lauded as a gifted poet. Her poems are published in many literary journals and anthologies.

Christine joined the Baha’i Faith after college. She served on Baha’i Institutions in many capacities and positions. Behind all of Christine’s pursuits was the ideal of a unified and diverse world standing on the pillars of justice and love. She brought a spiritual perspective to community building. Her commitment to social and racial justice was reflected in her membership in the NAACP and long-standing involvement in Citizens for Racial Amity Now in Amherst, MA. Christine was also an avid student of native indigenous teaching.

Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown, with its wildness and expanses of water, was a place of spiritual connection for Christine. As a child and as an adult, she found inspiration and peace through her long walks in the woods. Nature was her companion and teacher.

The spirit of Christine lives on in her poetry and in her dedicated life of service. Christine leaves four brothers, three nieces, and six great nieces and nephews as well as many close friends.