Memphis - Mary Ann Ramsey Clarke, age 91, died on Tuesday morning, June 25, 2019. Born in Florence S.C. in 1928, Mary Ann was the oldest child of Frances Hoyle Ramsey and Marshall Cornwall Ramsey. Early on, along with her parents and younger siblings, Mary Ann moved from North Carolina to Greenwood, MS. There, she was blessed with a most happy childhood, filled with a loving family and wonderful friends. After graduation from high school, she attended Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College), where she graduated in 1950 as the Sullivan Award recipient, given for integrity and service to humanity, and a member of the college's Hall of Fame. After graduation, Mary Ann attended Columbia University in New York for work on her master's degree in history. After New York, she returned to Memphis and on April 7, 1956, Mary Ann married the love of her life, George Gunther Clarke. For the next 53 years, they shared a wonderfully happy time together. Whether it was hiking on the Appalachian Trail, sailing their Lightning with the Delta Sailing Club, canoeing at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, or just relaxing at Sewanee or at their home on Harbert, together with their two sons and their enormous circle of friends, Mary Ann and George experienced outdoor (and indoor) life to the fullest! Nobody enjoyed a party with friends more than Mary Ann and George. As her sons moved into their teenage years, Mary Ann returned to work, first as an office manager with the fledgling Thomason Hendrix law firm, and later as a VISTA Volunteer at MIFA. She would have two turns as the manager of the Episcopal Bookshop and worked part-time for many years at Burke's Book Store. A bibliophile practically from birth, there was never a time when Mary Ann was not working on several books at once, always a book of history, topics varying depending on her current project, always a "serious" piece of fiction, and finally, just to keep things lively, a mystery or two. Her appetite for knowledge was truly insatiable; Mary Ann never stopped learning. She was a member of the Memphis Book Club, the short story group at St. Mary's, the Janet Tate book group, her beloved Literati, and over the years many other book clubs as well. Mary Ann was also a member of the Dils and the Junior League of Memphis. Together with her husband, they were active members of the St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral community. Mary Ann is predeceased by her husband George, who died in 2009. She is survived by her two sons, George Gunther Clarke, Jr. (Julia) and Percy Caulfield Clarke, III, both of Memphis, a daughter-in-law, Anne Bennett Clarke of Louisville, KY, and a sister-in-law, Eleanor Clarke Miller of Memphis. She is also survived by all her siblings, Marshall Ramsey, Jr. (May) of Columbia, S.C., Frances Gardner of Winona, MS, and Jane Ramsey of Irvine, CA., as well as a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins. Mary Ann was also truly blessed to have an amazing collection of the most interesting, loyal, and devoted friends that anyone could ask for, many of whom she sadly leaves behind, and others with whom she has now been gloriously reunited. Burial will be in the columbarium at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral following a memorial service on Tuesday, July 9, at 11 a.m. There will be a visitation in St. Mary's Martyrs' Hall beginning at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, Mary Ann requested that any donation be made to the Scholarship Fund of the Class of 1950 at Rhodes College, St. Mary's Cathedral, MIFA, or any charity of the donor's choice. Canale Funeral Home (Published in The Commercial Appeal from July 5 to July 6, 2019)