This is from the November 7, 2002 Memphis Commercial Appeal. Miss Clark, we love you........... Randy Byrd

LOU ALICE CLARK GILLESPIE, 65, of Memphis, retired teacher from the City of Memphis after 30 years, died Tuesday at Methodist Healthcare-University Hospital.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Northridge/Woodhaven Funeral Home in Millington with burial in Northridge/Woodhaven Cemetery.

She was a graduate of the University of Memphis, former member of the Beethoven Club and member of Bellevue Baptist Church.

Mrs. Gillespie, the wife of Thomas G. Gillespie for 25 years, also leaves a stepdaughter, Tammy Mantlo of Nashville, and two grandchildren.
The family requests that memorials be sent to Transverse Myelitis Association in Tacoma, Wash., or Life Choices of Memphis.

From: MIRIAM COLEMAN 1975 Dec 3 2002 8:11:17AM posted from classmates.com
To: RANDAL BYRD 1969
(17) Memorable Teachers (in reply to 16)

Thanks so much for posting the obituary for Mrs. Gillespie
known as Miss Clark to most of us "older" alums). I had the
joy of continuing my relationship with her past my high
school years. In fact, as my mother had died years ago,
when my husband and I married, I had her brought in as
the"mother of the bride." After that, that was what I
always called her.

We always joked about that, because I (like most of you,
probably) was Raised to address adults (especially teachers)
with respect, and could never bring myself to call her
"Lou Alice" -- so when I called, I would always say,
"Is this the mother of the bride?"

There is a huge void that is left with her passing. She
continued her "guidance counseling" in my life and the
lives of many of her former students long after her
retirement. Many times, I would drop in and end up
staying for several hours, as she made herself available
to be a sounding board for my problems and helped me sort
through and make wise choices.

It was my privilege to be one of the ones who was able to
help take care of her over the last four years during her
illness. If you do not know what "transverse myelitis" is,
let me just say that it is a wicked, wicked disease that
incapacitates patients much like polio -- a bacterial
infection enters the blood stream and lodges in the spinal
column, where it destroys the nerve fibers and paralyzes
or causes other neurologic damage that is often irreversible,
which was the case for our beloved Miss Clark. For the last
four years, she had been paralyzed from the chest down and
her husband, Jerry, lovingly provided total care for her
all that time. Eventually, the complications of that illness,
as well as diabetes and other things, became insurmountable
and God took her home. She wanted to go, and she was prepared,
and it gives me great comfort to know that she is in a better
place, no longer feeling any pain, with a body that works and
doesn't suffer anymore. I also had the privilege of singing
at her funeral, which was difficult because she was more
like a mother to me than a teacher, but also a joy because it
was an opportunity to pay tribute to her and to the things
that she taught me and what she meant to me.

I will never forget Lou Alice Clark Gillespie. Through her
love for teaching, her love for kids, and her love for God,
she left an indelible mark on my life and I will always
cherish that. Those of you who pray, please remember Miss
Townsend in your prayers, as they continued to be best
friends until the end, and the void that is left in her
life is a vast one, as well.