GUILDERLAND — Martha Cowan Clark, known as Marcy to her friends and family, died unexpectedly and peacefully, with family at her side on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, at Maine Medical Center following complications from a stroke. She was 64.

“Marcy was a beautiful person in appearance but her greatest beauty came from the loving heart and soul she shared so unselfishly with her family and many friends who cherished her,” her husband wrote in a tribute. “She always gave a helping hand, many a kind word, and wise counsel to those in need.

“In Marcy’s early adult years her most favorite place on earth was Ogunquit, Maine. She loved the charming seaside town, the many wonderful friends she developed there, and especially walking the beach with her two playful Irish Setters, Josh and Brittle. It’s also where she and her husband, Paul H. Clark, met, fell in love, and eventually married.

“Shortly after marriage in 1977, Marcy and her husband moved to Brunswick and Harpswell to be near her husband’s work and family, and to build a family of their own, which would come to include their three wonderful children. Marcy was a very devoted mother, and put her children’s needs first at all times.

“She was a consummate home decorator, hostess, and family chef. And, she had a special way of making everyone feel welcome and appreciated in her world. She loved entertaining her family and friends at her beloved island cottage in Harpswell. It’s where she and her family spent 30 wonderful years of summers together renovating the cottage and creating a Maine paradise getaway to share with everyone, and every dog, they ever cared about (which were many).

“Marcy loved reading, dog walking, and traveling/boating in tropical places with her family and friends, places like the Virgin Islands, Nevis, Rincon, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama. One of her favorite Maine pastimes was ‘Gunkholing,’ jumping in a large skiff with everyone and a picnic, and exploring the many coves and inlets around Quahog Bay, finding driftwood, sea glass, and flotsam and jetsam treasures.”

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Martha Cowan Clark was born on March 4, 1952 in Albany, to David F. Cowan and Frances S. Cowan who both died before her. She grew up in Altamont, graduating from Guilderland High School in 1970, and later from Maria College with an associate’s degree in nursing. She practiced nursing, starting in 1975 at York Hospital in York, Maine and later, and for the rest of her career, at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. “All of her patients benefitted from her sincere kindness, compassion, and highly skilled nursing care,” her husband wrote.

She is survived by her husband of 39 years, Paul Clark; her daughter Lindsay Shields and her husband, Josh, of Park City, Utah; her daughter Whitney Clark of San Diego, California; and her son, Paul Clark IV, and his wife, Can; her granddaughter, Adleigh Ann Clark of Topsham, Maine; her sisters, Gail Wariner and Lisa Cowan; her brother, David Cowan; her father-in-law, Douglas L. Morton; and her brothers- and sisters-in-law, Peter Clark, Dana and Jean Clark, Steven Morton and Marti Morton, Carla Morton, and Verian Tuttle; and many wonderful nephews and nieces.

She cherished her Labrador retriever, Stella.

A celebration of her life will be held in early summer.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Brunswick, Maine, Coastal Humane Society, 30 Range Rd., Brunswick, ME  04011.