Marilyn Ann Kistner Clark, 90, passed away on September 12, 2026, at Garnet Health Medical Center.

Marilyn was born on October 3, 1935, in Middletown, New York, to Evelyn Anna Pearce Kistner and Frank Kistner. She attended Monticello High School and graduated from Middletown High School in 1953. She was a member of The Leader’s Club and the American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps during high school. She graduated from Albany Business College in 1955 where she was a member of Theta Alpha Chi sorority. She married John P. Clark of Margaretville, New York, and had four children.

Marilyn came of age at a time when the choices available to women were often narrow. She refused to live narrowly. She chose education, career, family, service, and adventure. She built a life large enough to hold them all.

Her professional life spanned medicine, education, and federal public health. Marilyn worked as a medical secretary and a school secretary before advancing to a management position at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Her career reflected her intelligence, capability, and determination.

Marilyn brought that same strength and energy to the rest of her life. Athletic and adventurous, she played softball and was an accomplished figure skater. She loved to travel and made certain that her children had opportunities to see new places and experience a wider world. Yet, her fondest memories were made closer to home, picnicking, swimming, and sailing with her family on Wanaksink Lake, where generations of her family lived and gathered.

She also gave her time to her community volunteering in many roles including as an active member of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 73.

Motherhood was one of the great commitments of Marilyn’s life. She raised her children while building a career and broadening their horizons. She remained a strong and influential presence in their lives and took tremendous pride in the people they became. Her grandchildren were a particular source of joy, and she followed their lives and accomplishments with pride.

Marilyn was predeceased by her parents, Evelyn Anna Pearce Kistner and Frank Kistner, and her daughter, Camillia Ann Clark.

She is survived by her sister, Marjorie Kistner Coney; her children, Deborah S. Clark, Theresa A. Clark and her husband, Alan Lembitz, and Scott J. Clark and his wife, Stacy Clark; her grandchildren, Alan C. Lembitz and Pearce A. Lembitz; her nieces, April McBride and Cindy Van Arsedale; and many great-nieces, great-nephews, great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews.

Marilyn belonged to a generation of women whose achievements were not always given the recognition they deserved. She was educated, athletic, adventurous, professionally accomplished, and devoted to her children. She built a life of substance and consequence and left a legacy that will endure in the family she raised, the institutions she served, and the generations who follow her. She will be deeply missed.

On behalf of the staff of VanInwegen – Kenny Funeral Home, it is our honor to walk alongside the Clark family during this time. We extend our sincere condolences to all who loved Marilyn, and may the coming days bring you comfort, peace and gentle strength.