ASHBURNHAM – Marilyn A. (Russell) Clark, 87, died Friday, March 27, at Life Care Center in Scituate after an illness.

She was born in Lowell on June 28, 1932, the daughter of Frederick and Margaret (Higgs) Russell, and was a 1949 graduate of Lowell High School, where she was a majorette.

Mrs. Clark married the late Donald L. Clark in 1951 at Calvary Baptist Church in Lowell, and in 1956 they moved to Ashburnham, where they raised their four children. She worked for the Town of Ashburnham for 31 years as a fire/police dispatcher and then as secretary of the Ashburnham Police Department before her retirement in 1993.

She was a devoted mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and aunt, and loved spending time with her family. Mrs. Clark also enjoyed having lunches with friends and her high school classmates, taking bus trips, camping, vacationing in Maine, and doing crossword and Sudoku puzzles.

Mrs. Clark leaves a son, David R. Clark, and daughter-in-law, Ann-Marie, of Barre; a daughter, Janet E. Trask, and son-in-law, Mark, of Duxbury; a son, Richard W. Clark, and daughter-in-law, Susan, of Lunenburg; a son, James E. Clark, and daughter-in-law, Jennifer, of Sturbridge; a daughter-in-law, Diane Clark of Gardner; six grandchildren: Jason Trask and wife Kathleen of Weymouth; Andrea Howe and her partner James Lucas of Sharon; Shannon Sorensen and husband Sean of Newington, Conn.; Patrick Clark and wife Angela of Billerica; Jessica Francis and husband Andrew of Gardner; and Kayley Clark of Barre; and nine great-grandchildren.

She also leaves four brothers: Ronald Russell of Brookline, N.H.; Fredrick Russell of Tyngsboro; Robert Russell and wife Cookie of Colorado Springs, Colo.; Richard Russell and partner Toni McDaniel of Billerica; a sister, Louise Fuller and partner John Spiedel of Nashua, N.H.,; sisters-in-law Carol Russell of Dracut, Esther Laflamme of Lowell, and Susan Francavilla and husband Gilbert of Tenants Harbor, Maine; and many nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her husband; two sisters-in-law, Blanche Russell and Elizabeth Clark; one brother-in-law, Gregory Fuller; one nephew; and one great-grandson.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date and time. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Gordon E. Erickson Memorial Fire/Rescue Foundation, c/o Ashburnham Fire Department, 99 Central St., Ashburnham, MA 01430, or at ericksonfirerescue.org. Arrangements are by McNamara-Sparrell Funeral Home, 1 Summer St., Cohasset, MA.