A tireless advocate A tireless advocate A tireless advocate

Women and children living in Spokane couldn’t have had a better advocate than Mari Clack, ’58. Then again, the same could be said for the University of Washington. Her passion for supporting the UW also knew no bounds.

The Seattle native went to the University of Washington, where she met her husband, David. She was a Democrat who advocated for women, children and those facing inequality. They married in 1960, moved to Spokane and started a life of advocacy in Eastern Washington—and at the UW.

A runner, skier, hiker, power-walker, tennis player and pickleball player, Clack displayed the same boundless energy when it came to serving her community. She was a member of the Spokane Park Board and co-founded the Women Helping Women Fund, which raised more than $1 million for grants and scholarships. She served on the Ronald McDonald House board of directors and became president of Planned Parenthood Spokane, among many other organizations. Her community work caught the eye of Gov. Booth Gardner, ’58, who appointed her to the UW Board of Regents.

Clack, who taught middle school in Seattle before moving to Spokane, served two six-year terms on the Board of Regents. She loved the opportunity to interact with students, faculty, administrators and the public. And she was known for advocating the regents to recognize UW professors who went the extra mile when it came to teaching undergraduates.
“She was just a going machine,” David, her husband of 64 years, told the Spokesman-Review.

Clack and her husband, the former chairman and CEO of Old National Bancorporation, championed the creation of the UW Medical School in Spokane. They started the Friends of WWAMI-Spokane to support local medical students in Eastern Washington. (WWAMI provides medical education in Spokane as well as the states of Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. The medical program in Spokane is in partnership with Gonzaga University.)

“Mari Clack, with her husband, Dave, was a fierce champion of access to medical education and care in Eastern Washington,” UW President Emerita Ana Mari Cauce said in a statement. “As a civic leader, volunteer and community organizer, she was a powerful force.” Clack died Aug. 2 at the age of 89.