By Vivian “Didi” (Clark) Hughes, daughter of Jim and Vivian (Connell) Clark;
and Heather Monahan, Senior Administrative Assistant for Westford Cemetery & Veterans Services.
Vivian Marguerite (Connell) Clark was born in Lowell on February 27, 1930, to Joseph Patrick Connell and Dolphine (Socha) Connell, who was known as “Dolly.” Her parents married in 1912 and began building their large family in the Forge Village part of Westford the following year. Vivian was the ninth of twelve children, six boys, and six girls:
Virginia (Connell) Kimball (1913-1995), Margorie (Connell) Daly (1915-2008), Earl Joseph Connell (1917-1965), Philip Raymond Connell (1921-1996), Edward Bernard Connell (1923-2004), Richard A. Connell (1925-1944), Winifred Ann (Connell) Daly (1927-2003),
Marion Kathleen (Connell) Marabello (1928-2024), Vivian Marguerite (Connell) Clark (1930- 2015), Clarence Richard Connell (1932-2014), JoAnn (Connell) McGeown (1934-2020), and Franklin Connell (1936-2004).
With six brothers and five sisters, grandparents right next door on Prescott Street, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins nearby, Vivian always felt that she had a wonderful childhood. She loved life in Forge Village: so many families were related and knew each other, went to school together, worked at the Abbot Worsted Mill, swam at Forge Pond, and enjoyed the embrace of a close community.
Vivian leaned on that support when her father, Joe, died in November 1938. She was just shy of her 9th birthday, and her dad was a young man himself at age 50. In 1917, when he was just 30 and a young father of two, he was helping a woman onto a train at the Middlesex St. station in Lowell when he fell under the wheels. The horrific injury resulted in both his legs being amputated. Even with the pain and health complications he faced, he was the guiding light of his family. Vivian idolized him, and she mourned his death for over a year.
She and her family suffered another terrible loss six years later when her 19-year-old brother Richard, known as “Dickie,” was killed in action during WWII. Seaman First Class Connell had enlisted in the Navy the year before and was assigned to an armed guard unit aboard a merchant marine vessel when he was lost at sea in February 1944. His body was never recovered. Vivian got the news on her 14th birthday, and his loss hit her hard. Her family held a mass for Dickie at Saint Catherine of Alexandria Church and had his name etched onto the family headstone at Saint Catherine of Alexandria Cemetery. A memorial plaque to honor his service can be seen at the corner of West Prescott and Coolidge streets in Forge Village, close to where the family lived
All of Vivian’s brothers except Franklin served in the military. The older brothers had enlisted with Dickie in WWII: Earl and Edward (who was awarded a Purple Heart and three Bronze Stars) served in the Army, while Philip joined the Navy. Vivian’s younger brother Clarence, nicknamed “Clanky,” served in the Army during the Korean War.
All of the Connell sisters married veterans: Virginia married Paul Cushing Kimball (1908-1990); Margie married Vincent Bernard Daly, Sr. (1914-1976) and Winifred married his brother, Francis Edward Daly (1921-1990); Marian married A. John Marabello (1925-2021). All of them served in WWII. JoAnn married Charles F. McGeown, Jr. (1932-2011) who served with the Army’s 7th Calvary in Korea.
Vivian graduated from Westford Academy, where she was an active and athletic student who won the journalism award. She and her sister Marion were among the Class of 1947, which was at the time the largest graduating class WA had yet seen – 38 students! The following year, she began working at the dental office of Dr. John Walter Desmond in Ayer. That fall, she broke her leg in a car accident and was confined to her home for two months, but luckily, she recovered and returned to work in December.
Following her family’s dedication to military service and the example of her brothers and
brothers-in-law, Vivian decided to enlist in the Navy herself. Her friends and family threw her a farewell party on March 30, 1952, which was shown in the Lowell Sun, and Dr. Desmond and his staff hosted a lovely party for her at the Groton Inn.
Vivian enlisted in Boston on April 9, 1952. “We aren’t sure if she decided to go into the Navy because of [her brother] Dickie or to get an education, but it was a huge thing for her as she was quite timid – that was a big step for her,” said her daughter, Vivian “Didi” Hughes. “One of her sisters had planned to enlist with her, but something changed at the last minute, and she still took that big step alone.” The only one of her sisters who served, Vivian joined the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), a branch of the Navy Reserve established ten years earlier during WWII to accomplish shore duties while men served overseas.
Vivian left in April for basic training in Maryland and enrolled in the Naval Dental School. She was assigned as a dental assistant at the naval
base in Norfolk, Virginia. She loved her whole experience in the Navy and made a lot of good friends. Her daughter “Didi” Hughes said that right up until the end of her life, Vivian’s memories of her time in the service always brought a smile to her face.
One of Vivian’s greatest memories had to do with meeting her future husband, James Edward Clark. One night she was in the NCO club with friends when she was approached by a tall sailor who overheard her talking about Massachusetts. Jim, a native of Lynn, was 6’3” and towered over Vivian, who was 5’2”. Jim and Vivian discovered they had a lot in common and happily chatted the night away.
Jim had also enlisted in Boston just six months before Vivian in October 1951. The son of Edward R. Clark and Alice (Kennedy) Clark, he lived on Circuit Avenue in Lynn and had gone to St.
Mary’s School. Among his assignments, he was a signalman aboard the USS Owen
and the destroyer USS Henderson. In this three- and half-year service he sailed around the world three times and would attain the rank of OM2, Opticalman Petty Officer Second Class. By the time of his honorable discharge his awards included the National Defense Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal (European Clasp) and the Korean Service Medal.
Vivian and Jim made plans to meet the following evening on base, but he never arrived. Soon after, she received a letter from him explaining that he had unexpectedly shipped out the next morning. They “dated” by mail until he returned to Norfolk, and they could resume seeing each other in person, and they were engaged to be married soon after.
Jim and Vivian came back to her hometown of Westford for two large bridal showers held in
their honor, one at the Franco-American Club for 150 guests and another at a friend’s home in which family and friends came from all over to celebrate the happy couple. Their grand wedding took place at Saint Catherine of Alexandria Church on June 5, 1954.
Vivian left the Navy when her commitment was up and earned the National Defense Service Medal. She continued working in the dental field until Jim was discharged two years later. Then, they began their family life together. The happy couple lived for many years in Jim’s hometown of Lynn, where they raised their six children: Vivian “Didi” (Clark) Hughes, Edward Clark, James Clark, Jr., John Clark, Valerie M. (Clark) Harris, and Christopher Clark. Then they moved to Georgetown, where they lived for more than 40 years. Jim worked for the General Electric Company after leaving the Navy, and he stayed there for more than 40 years until he retired in 1992.
Vivian (who preferred to be addressed as “Mrs. Clark”) loved being a wife and mother. She
especially adored being a grandmother to her beloved grandchildren Rebecca Reed, Jessica Hughes, Joe Hughes, Justin Clark, Ryan Clark, Andrea Clark Savino, Adam Clark, Adam Harris, Jackson Harris, Adrienne Harris, Anna Clark, and Lily Clark. She was the proud great-grandmother of Mikayla Harris, Paige Harris, J.J. Clark, Eva Clark, Alden Reed, Scarlett Reed, Emerson Reed, Nixon Hughes, Edmund Joachim Hughes, Charlotte Savino, Alexandra Savino, Cayden Clark, Carter Clark, Aaliyah Clark.
It was one of many sources of pride she had in her family that some of the younger generation made the sacrifice to serve in the military. Her son Jim is an Air Force veteran and her grandson Edmund (Marine Corps) and grandson-in-law Lt. Col. (Ret.) Zachary Alden Reed (Army) both served in Iraq.
Vivian was a kind, caring woman who loved helping others. She loved to sing and was quite a whistler. She and Jim loved visiting Poland Spring, Maine, every year for the weather and the scenery. Her family were active parishioners at St. Mary’s Church in Georgetown. Vivian was a devout Catholic who kept an extensive prayer list of people who were ill or in need and she prayed for them every day.
Jim was 80 when he passed away peacefully in 2012 with his loving family at his side. Vivian
passed away three years later on February 5, 2015, not long before her 85th birthday. The loving couple of 58 years are buried together at Harmony Cemetery in Georgetown with their beloved son John, who was a young man of 52 when he passed away in 2013.
“She was raised to work hard, help others and love her family, her country, and above all, her God,” said their daughter “Didi” Hughes. “It was always so nice to see how happy she was to see the American flag.”
