Judith Belle ("Judy Belle") Clark Horick died on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, surrounded by her adoring family, after a fifteen-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Judy Belle was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota on June 2, 1938. Her father was Kenneth Leo Clark (March 15, 1907-July 12, 2003) and her mother was Ruth Marie Miller Clark (March 13, 1915- October 1, 2011.) Both her parents were natives of Moberly, Missouri and were excellent bridge players and avid antique collectors.
Judy Belle's father, "Ken" Clark, was a civil engineer who worked for the Chicago Milwaukee Saint Paul and Pacific railroad line (commonly called the "Milwaukee Road"), which ran from Chicago to the west coast. Judy Belle's early years were spent in several homes along the route of the Milwaukee Road. However, when she reached the age to enter high school, her mother thought it best that the family settle in Elmhurst, Illinois, so that Judy Belle could attend the excellent high school there.
Judy Belle was a good student and was accepted into several universities, but she surprised many by choosing the University of Montana (formerly called Montana State University). One basis of her choice was this institution's location at one of the most distant cities from Chicago along the Milwaukee Road, about 1600 miles from her home in the Chicago suburbs. Other advantages included beautiful scenery and a very favorable ratio of male to female students. As the daughter of a Milwaukee Railroad official, Judy Belle was able to ride the train between school and home in a chair car at no charge, but Judy Belle quickly learned to bargain with the sleeping car conductors to obtain a favorable rate to ride in a Pullman sleeping car. She remained a skilled negotiator for the rest of her life.
After graduating with a degree in English Literature, Judy Belle moved to Chicago, where she worked as an assistant to the Dean of the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. There she met Robert Allan (Bob) Horick, then a graduate student of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago. In January, 1965, Judy Belle and Bob married in a small ceremony held in Judy's parents' living room in Itasca, Illinois, witnessed by her parents, some old family friends, and the Clarks' pet rabbit, Frowzy. Bob subsequently received a Fulbright-Hayes Fellowship to spend the academic year 1965-66 in Moscow, USSR, at the Moscow State University. Judy Belle was by then pregnant and could not accompany Bob to the USSR, so the couple's good friends from Germany, Prof. Dr. Dietrich Menzel and his wife Hilde helped Judy Belle establish residence in Darmstadt, (West) Germany. Bob took a short leave of absence from his studies in Moscow to come to Darmstadt for the birth of their first child, Robert Allan Horick, Jr., in February of 1966.
When Bob finished his work in Moscow, the family made a splendid tour of Europe. Subsequently, on their return to the USA, the couple lived in West Lafayette, Indiana, then in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where their daughter, Nora Kathryn, was born in 1977. Later the family moved to Cedar Rapids, IA, and finally in 1983 they settled in Georgetown, Texas, where Judy Belle worked as a legal assistant to Marjorie Herbert for many years and Bob became the first director of Academic Computing at Southwestern University. Bob retired in 1999, and Judy Belle joined Bob in retirement in 2002.
Judy Belle was an avid gardener, and she enjoyed attending regular performances of the Austin Symphony and Austin Opera with Bob and friends. She became interested in genealogy and joined the Williamson County Genealogy Society, where she served as an officer and editor of the Society's newsletter. She did extensive research in the history of her family: the Millers, the Bordwines, and the Clarks. She also contributed considerably to the study of the family trees of the Horick and Howser families.

Judith Belle ("Judy Belle") Clark Horick died on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, surrounded by her adoring family, after a fifteen-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Judy Belle was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota on June 2, 1938. Her father was Kenneth Leo Clark (March 15, 1907-July 12, 2003) and her mother was Ruth Marie Miller Clark (March 13, 1915- October 1, 2011.) Both her parents were natives of Moberly, Missouri and were excellent bridge players and avid antique collectors.
Judy Belle's father, "Ken" Clark, was a civil engineer who worked for the Chicago Milwaukee Saint Paul and Pacific railroad line (commonly called the "Milwaukee Road"), which ran from Chicago to the west coast. Judy Belle's early years were spent in several homes along the route of the Milwaukee Road. However, when she reached the age to enter high school, her mother thought it best that the family settle in Elmhurst, Illinois, so that Judy Belle could attend the excellent high school there.
Judy Belle was a good student and was accepted into several universities, but she surprised many by choosing the University of Montana (formerly called Montana State University). One basis of her choice was this institution's location at one of the most distant cities from Chicago along the Milwaukee Road, about 1600 miles from her home in the Chicago suburbs. Other advantages included beautiful scenery and a very favorable ratio of male to female students. As the daughter of a Milwaukee Railroad official, Judy Belle was able to ride the train between school and home in a chair car at no charge, but Judy Belle quickly learned to bargain with the sleeping car conductors to obtain a favorable rate to ride in a Pullman sleeping car. She remained a skilled negotiator for the rest of her life.
After graduating with a degree in English Literature, Judy Belle moved to Chicago, where she worked as an assistant to the Dean of the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. There she met Robert Allan (Bob) Horick, then a graduate student of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago. In January, 1965, Judy Belle and Bob married in a small ceremony held in Judy's parents' living room in Itasca, Illinois, witnessed by her parents, some old family friends, and the Clarks' pet rabbit, Frowzy. Bob subsequently received a Fulbright-Hayes Fellowship to spend the academic year 1965-66 in Moscow, USSR, at the Moscow State University. Judy Belle was by then pregnant and could not accompany Bob to the USSR, so the couple's good friends from Germany, Prof. Dr. Dietrich Menzel and his wife Hilde helped Judy Belle establish residence in Darmstadt, (West) Germany. Bob took a short leave of absence from his studies in Moscow to come to Darmstadt for the birth of their first child, Robert Allan Horick, Jr., in February of 1966.
When Bob finished his work in Moscow, the family made a splendid tour of Europe. Subsequently, on their return to the USA, the couple lived in West Lafayette, Indiana, then in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where their daughter, Nora Kathryn, was born in 1977. Later the family moved to Cedar Rapids, IA, and finally in 1983 they settled in Georgetown, Texas, where Judy Belle worked as a legal assistant to Marjorie Herbert for many years and Bob became the first director of Academic Computing at Southwestern University. Bob retired in 1999, and Judy Belle joined Bob in retirement in 2002.
Judy Belle was an avid gardener, and she enjoyed attending regular performances of the Austin Symphony and Austin Opera with Bob and friends. She became interested in genealogy and joined the Williamson County Genealogy Society, where she served as an officer and editor of the Society's newsletter. She did extensive research in the history of her family: the Millers, the Bordwines, and the Clarks. She also contributed considerably to the study of the family trees of the Horick and Howser families.