Mary Catherine Clark MacBeth

It is with great sadness we announce the death of our dear mother, Mary Catherine Clark Macbeth. Catherine passed away peacefully in the comfort of her home, surrounded by her family on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2023. She was 92 years old.

 It is our honor and privilege to share just a few key notes of her life.

Her journey began on April 19, 1931, born to Coker J. and Mary Atkinson Clark in Pensacola Florida at their family home. The third of five children, she was affectionately nicknamed "Cat" by her siblings. Her grandparents, Levi and Artimisa Atkinson, owned a dairy farm in Myrtle Grove, Pensacola. Her father also built up and ran a successful mining company (Clark Sand Co.). The family dairy provided milk, butter, and cheese for the local community in a time of great scarcity. By then the Great Depression (1929-1939) was already underway, to be followed by World War II.  Her family made it through those tough years with an ethos of hard work, determination, and self-reliance. They were fortunate enough to have a large, bountiful victory garden at the dairy. Her mother, a kind and generous lady, gave out any extra food to the desperate, homeless, and dispossessed. She recalled, “One day, we were wondering why so many strangers were showing up looking for a meal. We searched around and found a mark on the back gate used by the 'hobos' to let others passing through know that here lived a good family who would share their food."

Catherine took naturally to the responsibilities of living on a farm and loved raising and taking care of many types of animals. She especially loved horses and had a great talent with them. In her early teens, she began racing them herself. Despite being petite, and a girl, she would regularly shock the crowd and win a few races with her favorite horse who stood 'seventeen hands high'. 

Catherine showed high intelligence at school with a keen interest and ability in higher mathematics. She attended the University of Alabama where she met our father, Robert Macbeth, (PhD Education Administration, H.E.W.). After they married, the Korean War (1950) began, and he joined the Air Force. They were stationed in England. As a young mother with her first child, she spent much of the time living alone in a foreign country with her husband away on flight missions throughout Europe and Korea. This is when she cultivated her skill with watercolor painting, her favorite subject being the highlands of Scotland which she visited and found beautiful and inspiring.

After some years of living in Decatur, Atlanta, Georgia (c 1970s), it was time to move on, and our mother dreamed of owning some land near the mountains. We eventually found a good place to call home, here, in Lumpkin County. We homesteaded the raw land building roads, a bridge, homes, bored wells, gardens, and a poultry farm. It was hard work, but we enjoyed the challenge.

 Catherine lived a long and eventful life of which the last 45 years were well lived here in Dahlonega /Lumpkin Co.  Steadfast in her convictions, she carried with her a strong sense of responsibility and moral obligation to her family, career, and community. Her favorite charities included the Society for the Prevention of Breast Cancer, local humane societies, and animal rescue services. She was an avid reader and collector of science, health, and classic literature. As a substitute teacher, she taught art and other subjects. Always a self-starter and a people person, she eventually gravitated to a career in real estate. Catherine worked with Sue Jones at Century 21, and Linda Walden at Walden & Co. in Dahlonega, as a sales associate. She worked in real estate well into her eighties. After finally deciding to retire she joined The Lumpkin Co. Board of Assessors and served for several years.

Catherine was preceded in death by her parents, Coker J. and Mary Clark, and by her brothers, James and Richard Clark (Connie), and by her sister Dorothy Williams.

She is survived by her sisters Linda Clark (Dan), and Janet Mitchell (Eddie),

Her children: Robert Blair Macbeth (Cathy), Glenn Stuart Macbeth (Gerry), John Brian Macbeth, and Wanda Gail Macbeth. Her grandchildren: John Macbeth (Lauren), Erin Rubin (Spencer), Alison Macbeth (Dan Cook), and Reese Macbeth. And by her great-grandchildren: Aiden, Ayla, Hadley, Parker, Landon, Luna, and another great-granddaughter on the way.

Plans for a Celebration of Life ceremony in town will be shared at a future date. Everyone is most welcome. As per her wishes, she was cremated, and her ashes will be scattered on her land in a private family ceremony.

Instead of flowers, sympathy cards may be addressed to 1932 Longbranch Road, Dahlonega Georgia, 30533, in care of Wanda Macbeth.

We would like to give a special thanks to all the good people and staff at Northeast Georgia Hospital and Hospice Care, and The Anderson-Underwood Funeral Home.

To share a memory or a condolence with the family, please visit Mrs. Macbeth's online guestbook at andersonunderwood.com.

Anderson-Underwood Funeral Home 2068 Highway 19 North Dahlonega, GA 30533