Mary Nell Clark

Mary Nell Clark was a fiercely independent and strong-willed woman; that’s how she lived her life and that’s how she entered her eternal life on Friday, March 28, 2025, at her home, surrounded by her family.

A resident of Seal Beach, California, she had moved to Southern California in her early 70s only knowing one person. This didn’t stop her from enjoying retirement and making new friends, along with spending time with her beloved family.

Born on September 27, 1937 to Calvin Earl Newsom and Mary Culwell Newsom, Mary Nell spent her early childhood in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. With her parents and sister Nancy, the family moved to Topeka, Kanas for the girls’ high school years.

Mary Nell went to the University of Kansas and joined the Pi Beta Phi sorority. Just before her senior year, her family moved back to Oklahoma and Mary Nell transferred to the University of Oklahoma where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History.

Through her work in politics, she met and married James M. “Jim” Clark in 1959 and would raise three children, Scott, Jill, and Kelly. The couple purchased Clark Casket and Vault Company a few years later. Mary Nell would be appointed to the Oklahoma Film Task Force in 1979 by Governor George Nigh.

Using her degree, experience, and love of the State, she worked with the producers of “Tex” to bring the movie production to Tulsa. The family closed the Casket Factory in 1980 and she accepted the position as the Film Commissioner for the State of Oklahoma. She would then recruit and serve as a liaison for dozens of films “The Outsiders,” “Rumble Fish,” “Rain Man,” “UHF,” “Twister” and many others.

After retirement, she moved to California and enjoyed the beautiful weather while playing lots of bridge with her friends and having wine with her incredible neighbors. She also became more active in her faith, attending Holy Family Catholic Church.

Mary Nell provided her family with the example of strength and dedication to her job and family. She passed along her strong competitive spirit to her girls and her children taught her how to love and adore animals. Most of her years in California were spent cherishing her beloved rescue dog, Tray.

Mary Nell is preceded in death by her parents, Calvin and Mary Newsom and her sister, Nancy Trammell. She is survived by her children, Jill Clark and husband Bob Murtaugh of Wimberly, Texas; Kelly Clark Fonkalsrud and husband Phil of Tulsa; Scott Clark of Tulsa; brother-in-law, Bill Trammell; nieces Terri Bieri and KayLynn Meeker, as well as many friends and neighbors who loved her.

A Graveside service will be held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at Resurrection Cemetery on April 21, 2025 at 10AM. A Mass and a celebration of life is still being planned in Seal Beach, California in the near future. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Humane Society of Tulsa, where Mary Nell first met Tray.