Hilda Veronica Clarke, 87, of Wabash, Indiana, passed away on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at Parkview Randallia Hospital in Fort Wayne. She was born on December 5, 1937, in La Ceiba, Honduras, to David and Mercilina Clarke, who preceded her in death.
From an early age, Hilda was deeply influenced by an American missionary couple. Inspired by their encouragement, she traveled to the United States, to study at Marion College. During her time there, a visit with a gospel team to White’s Institute left a lasting impression on her heart. After graduation, she joined the teaching staff at White’s, where she devoted herself to educating and uplifting students for more than 30 years.
As an English teacher at White’s School, Hilda did more than teach – she nurtured, guided, and shaped young lives with unwavering care. To those who knew her best, she was affectionately called “Miss Chicken,” a name that perfectly reflected her motherly nature, always protecting and encouraging her students.
Now in heaven, there is no doubt she continues doing what she did best – gathering children close, handing them crayons to color her hand-drawn words of encouragement, and watching as others carefully cut and paste them onto paper. Just as the posters she once created lined the hallways on Josiah White’s campus, her legacy of love and affirmation continues to inspire.
During heaven’s quiet moments, she is surely curled up on her favorite sofa, praying for her soldiers and those in need – just as she did throughout her life. During the First Gulf War, she led her students in writing thousands of letters to deployed soldiers, an effort that earned her a personal letter of thanks from General Norman Schwarzkopf.
Beyond the classroom, Hilda’s voice was a gift, bringing comfort and inspiration through concerts at churches around the world. Now, among the angels, her voice surely rings out in harmony with heaven’s choir.
Her legacy lives on in the students she mentored, the soldiers she supported, and the countless lives she touched through her prayers and encouragement. She showed us that even the smallest gestures – a kind letter, a whispered prayer, a listening ear – could change the course of a life. If every touch of kindness ripples outward, then Miss Chicken’s legacy will endure for generations to come.
Though we grieve in her passing, we also celebrate the life she lived – a life of service, faith, and never-ending love.
Hilda is survived by her brother-in-law Charles Smith, and her nieces and nephews, Sharon and Traci Brooks, Dorothy Clarke Smith, Gwen Washington, Charlie Jr (Chuckie) Smith, Pamela Levell, Carmen Reliford, Karen Smith, Dorothy Aileen Smith, David Allen Smith, David Clark, Jaylene Clark, and Gwendolyn Clark.
Burial will be in Park Cemetery in Fairmount, Indiana. There will be a Celebration of Hilda’s life at a later date. Arrangements by Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, Wabash.
