City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Patsy Clarke
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 95.
Died 12/09/2024.
Returning to college at age 40, Patsy graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 1973 with a degree in Drama and Literature. She served as an instructor at her alma mater for a decade, teaching acting and speech. In 1987, Patsy began teaching speaking and advocacy skills to law students at California Western School of Law in San Diego, and later at Gonzaga University Law School in Spokane, WA, and to a generation of trial lawyers at the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, GA and the Western Trial Advocacy Institute in Wyoming.
Following the death of her youngest son from AIDS, along with Eloise Vaughn of Raleigh, Patsy co-founded Mothers Against Jesse in Congress (MAJIC) and advocated for gay rights as human rights. The Journal of Southern History in 2017 stated: “Through moral suasion, MAJIC’s activist framed motherhood as the ethical center of the family, and thus society, in order to rehabilitate the image of homosexuals as immoral interlopers and AIDS patients as lepers, while widening the boundaries of American society for their full inclusion.” She co-authored "Keep Singing: Two Mothers, Two Sons, and Their Fight Against Jesse Helms," detailing her activism and personal journey.
Patsy is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Bruce and Diana Clarke of Raleigh, NC; her daughter and son-in-law, Judy Clarke and Speedy Rice of San Diego; three grandchildren, Megan (and Paul) Mobley of Raleigh, Erin (and Jon) Lesica of Rowayton, Connecticut, and Alan Clarke of NYC. She leaves behind five lively great-grandchildren. Her husband, Harry Clarke, oldest daughter Candy and youngest son, Mark predeceased her.
She was an avid reader, and with a close group of friends pursued the study of all things metaphysical. Throughout her life, Patsy Clarke remained dedicated to the arts, education, and social activism, leaving a lasting impact on her community and beyond. A celebration of her life is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 11:30 am at the North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Raleigh Little Theatre, https://raleighlittletheatre.org/donate/.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.