b. November 27, 1934

by David Curtis Skaggs, Christ Episcopal Church, New Bern, NC, 2016

Typical of many of Christ Church members, Betty Cheek Clarke is part of the influx of retirees who have migrated to New Bern in the past third of a century. On the other hand, she has Cheek family ancestors who settled in Edenton, North Carolina, before the American Revolution, so one can say she really returned to her roots. Born in Middletown, Ohio, her family moved to Louisville her senior year in high school. She attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, before marrying Ernest Hoge Clarke (1930-2011) in 1955. After Ernie finished law school at Washington and Lee University they moved to Louisville where he practiced law for sixteen years. In 1974 they moved to Columbus, Ohio, where Ernie taught at Capital University Law School until 1990. Then they moved to New Bern where they built a home in the historic district.

A cradle Episcopalian, Betty has been active in parish and diocesan affairs at several churches—St. Francis in the Fields, Harrods Creek, Kentucky (where they were married), Trinity Church in Columbus, and now Christ Church, New Bern. In all these parishes Betty has been active in community outreach and hospitality with particular concentration on the United Thank Offering where she served on the Diocese of Southern Ohio’s UTO committee and later on the National UTO committee, 1983-88. She has also been active in Episcopal Church Women and served on the Diocese of Kentucky’s board as the ECW’s representative. This brought her into work with companion dioceses in Haiti. Over the years this led to other companion diocese visits in Nigeria and Puerto Rico. These, she says, “were life-changing events.”

With an ebullient personality and an uncanny ability to remember names and faces, Betty has been on the parish newcomers committee since her arrival in New Bern and has played an important role in bringing new arrivals into the church. She contacts newcomers, visits with them, helps them meet others in the church, and seeks to find a niche where they can serve the parish.

From the beginning of her adult life Betty has been active in a variety of community affairs. Among these are working with the Junior League in Louisville and supporting the arts both as a volunteer and fund raiser at art museums, children’s theaters, and Tryon Palace. She has also volunteered at New Bern’s Religious Community Services for twenty-five years.

She and Ernie had two children and now there are ten grandchildren plus two great-grandchildren scattered across the globe. The family maintains unity by gathering as many as possible each summer at Ernie’s family compound on Michigan’s Lake Leelanau.

Looking back on her life, Betty says she learned that if one is given an opportunity to serve, just say “Yes. These opportunities will enrich your life.”