Joanne R. (Lovejoy) Clark

Joanne R. (Lovejoy) Clark, 83, Of Gloucester formerly of Scituate, passed away at the Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Gloucester on Saturday, October 19, 2024 after a period of declining health.

Joanne was born and raised in Benton, Maine. After graduating from high school in Benton she went on to receive her associate’s degree from Midway Junior College in Midway, Kentucky. Joanne also attended Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy.                                               

She worked for many years as a pianist and an organist for various churches including the South Weymouth Church of the Nazarene, Central Square Nazarene Church in Cambridge, Trinity Episcopal Church in Copley Square and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

At 42 years of age Joanne began running. She ran and completed 29 Boston Marathons with her last being at the age of 75, after which she continued supporting other runners by coaching them and giving them encouragement.  Joanne was also an active member of the Boston Athletic Association.

She was the beloved wife of the late Captain Ellery Harding Clark, Jr., who passed away in 1996. He had been a professor and the Cross-Country Coach for the United States Naval Academy.

Joanne was the devoted mother of Christopher P. “Spike” Ramsden and his wife Donna of Gloucester and Marcus Ramsden. She is the loving Grandmother of Perry Ramsden of Gloucester. She was also the wife of the late Walter Leo Ramsden, the father of her two sons to whom she had been married for 27 years. Joanne was also sister of the late Helen Lovejoy and Frank Lovejoy.

A Celebration of Joanne’s life will be held at the Hamel-Lydon Chapel, 650 Hancock Street, Quincy on Saturday, December 7, 2024, at 2:00p.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited.