Joyce Clarke passed away on Friday, May 24, 2024, in a Lake Charles hospital. She was born on Oct. 4, 1940, in Kaplan, La., to Aston and Aledia Cormier Herpin.

Joyce was a devoted wife and mother for 65 years. She loved her family dearly, and she cherished her Catholic Faith. Throughout her life, she held many roles and was actively involved in her community. She served as the President of the Our Lady Queen of Heaven Lady’s Altar Society, was a Cub Scout leader, a room mother, and a member of the Catholic Daughters and the Red Hat Society. She was also the President of the 1958 Kaplan High School Graduating Class and a member of the Choir of the Cajun French Music Association. She was frequently asked to recite the rosary in French for funerals.

Joyce enjoyed ceramics and candle making, and especially loved traveling with her husband, Dudley. She could speak and write both English and Cajun French.

Those left to cherish her memory are her beloved husband of 65 years, Dudley Clarke; her children, Keith Clarke (Rene), Kevin Clarke (Sharon), and Kim Duplechain (Thomas); her grandchildren, Brennen Clarke, Chelsea McLemore (Daniel), Grant Duplechain, and Reagan Duplechain; her great-grandchildren, Lorelei McLemore and Jensen McLemore; and her sister, Helen Schexnider.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church. Msgr. James Gaddy will serve as Celebrant. Interment will follow in Consolata Cemetery under the direction of Johnson Funeral Home. Visitation will begin on the evening of Tuesday, May 28, at 5 p.m. at the Johnson Funeral Home of Lake Charles Chapel, located at 4321 Lake Street, and will continue until 9 p.m., with a rosary being recited at 6 p.m. Visitation will resume at the funeral home on Wednesday, May 29, at 11:30 a.m. and continue until leaving in procession to the church.

Words of comfort to the family may be expressed at www.johnsonfuneralhome.net.