Mary Sue Clark Malcolm

Mary Sue Clark Malcolm was born May 2, 1920 in Hope, Arkansas, lived in Gurdon until she was 12, and then moved with her parents, Harry D. and Mary E. Clark, to North Little Rock, where she attended North Little Rock schools. Mary Sue was a lively and headstrong young woman, determined to educate herself and launch herself into life. She attended Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway in 1938 (named ASTC Parents Day Queen) and graduated from Henderson State Teachers College in 1942 (named Honorary Cadet Major of the ROTC). While a student at Henderson, she met the love of her life and husband of 66 years, Red Malcolm, who was leaning over a pinball machine in The Colonial Tavern in Arkadelphia in 1941. Mary Sue signed up for a kinesiology class to further evaluate Red—a decision she called "one of the best in my life"—and they married in September, 1943. During the War, Mary Sue worked at Twin City Bank in North Little Rock, lived with her parents, and waited for Red to return from China. In 1946, Sue and Red moved to Eudora, Arkansas, where they both taught school. The two lived in New York City, where Dusty (as he had become known in Eudora) finished a master's degree in education at Columbia. Their first child was born in 1951, and the couple moved to St. Louis for dental school at Washington University They lived at Edgewood Children's Center and cared for emotionally disturbed children. They also had two more children of their own. Sue and Dusty moved to Little Rock in 1956, where they began Dusty's dental practice, bought a house, joined St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, raised their kids, and lived the rest of their wonderful life together. She and Dusty were profoundly in love with each other through their 66 years together. Sue was always a go-getter with a large circle of friends and activities. She worked in Dusty's dental practice keeping the books; became one of the first female elders in the Presbyterian Church; worked in the STOP campaign during Little Rock's desegregation crisis; worked for over 35 years as a volunteer at the UA Med Center; played in two bridge clubs; and raised her three sons. Sue had, in her words, a "happy, good life." Sue acquired a salty vocabulary from her father, and with three boys, she had many occasions to use it. She ran a tight ship in a house full of males and always wondered what her life would have been like had her and Dusty's daughter, Jean Ann, lived past her first few days. Sue and Dusty were full and welcome participants in the lives of their kids, their church, and their friends. Like many women of her generation, Sue believed that mother and housekeeper were honorable roles that she worked hard at. She once vowed that she would "leave the world a little cleaner than I found it." And so she did. Sue was a bright spark in her sons' and her friends' lives. She is survived by three sons, Jim, Alan, and Clark; their wive, Bea, Nancy, and Judy; and five grandchildren, Ian, Caitlin, Anna, Russell, and Andy. We will all miss her. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at Westover Hills Presbyterian Church, officiated by Rev. Debbie Freeman. The family will receive guests' from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. prior to the service. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Presbyterian Village, 510 Brookside Drive, Little Rock, Ark. 72205 or Westover Hills Presbyterian Church, 6400 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, Ark. 72205. Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home. www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.