Joanne Margaret (Pozzi) Clark

Joanne (Pozzi) Clark passed away peacefully in the early morning hours on April 8, 2023 at the age of 90.  She was born on September 27, 1932 in Seattle, Washington to her parents, Chester and Ella Pozzi, who settled in the Kent valley on a small farm.  Growing up, Joanne worked on and around the family farm during her teenage years and eventually graduated from Kent High School in 1950.  She attended Washington State University for a few years before moving back to Kent when her dad became ill.  

Soon after returning from Pullman, Joanne met her future husband, Jack Clark, through mutual friends and the two were married on September 25, 1954.  They set up residence in Kent, Washington on East Hill and she went to work as a bookkeeper in the family business at Pozzi Bros. Transportation which originally hauled milk for farmers in the Kent Valley.  That milk business expanded in time to hauling freight and she spent her entire career working both full time and part time at Pozzi Bros.  She took several years off during her career at Pozzi to raise their two boys.

Joanne loved sports of any kind and was actively involved in women’s basketball and softball during those years.  First as a softball player for several years and then as a coach, she took a young group of ladies to the Women’s National Slow Pitch Softball finals in Midland, Texas in 1984 where they finished as the third-best team in the nation.  She was an excellent student of the game and mentored many young women not only on the softball field, but in real life as well. 

She attempted to retire on several different occasions from Pozzi, but finally made it official at the age of 65.  Joanne thoroughly enjoyed her many years of retirement with adventures in the outdoors, traveling around the west, camping, hunting, fishing, watching and attending all kinds of sporting events, taking care of her beloved cats and dogs and simply spending quality time with her family, especially her grandchildren.

Joanne is survived by her son Ric, daughter-in-law Carrie and grandchildren Jack, Maisie and Fran (Seattle, Washington); her son John, daughter-in-law Teresa (Kent, Washington); her grandson Garett (wife Bailey) and two great granddaughters Ella and Hadley (Enumclaw, Washington); and her grandson Hayden (Kent, Washington).  She was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Jack; her parents Chester and Ella Pozzi; and her brother Wayne Pozzi.

A celebration of life will be held at 1:00 pm on May 5th at Edline-Yahn & Covington Funeral Chapel.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Joanne Clark’s name to the Washington State Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org/alzwa.

Joanne was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, daughter and friend to many.  She will be missed by all those who she touched in her own special way through her love, kindness, generosity, encouragement, advice and laughter.  Joanne was the foundation of our family and left many enduring memories for all who knew and loved her.

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