God Bless Mercy

Dear Hearts,

March 6 is the anniversary of the birth of Mercy Whalen Clevenger, daughter of John and Helen, sister of Christian, Teresa, Damien and Lisa; mother of Molly and Claire; cousin, niece and friend to many more.

We were all so sad to to hear of Mercy's passing last summer, and a few of us were grateful to be able to attend her beautiful memorial in Missoula.

Mercy was born in Red Lodge, the youngest of five. By 1963, John and Helen had settled in Missoula, where Mercy attended grade school, high school, and college at the University of Montana. She continued her education in nursing and earned her LPN through the Missoula Vo-tech and her RN through Regents College of New York.

Mercy and Hal welcomed their first daughter, Claire, in 1987, followed by Molly the next year. One of Mercy’s greatest joys was being a mother. She volunteered for school and extracurricular activities, shuttled the girls to countless practices, competitions, choir and band concerts, and always showed up to cheer them on. Mercy’s love for the arts and music encouraged creativity and a passion for academics in her children. Having sewn nearly every single Halloween costume for the girls in their childhood, and several formal dresses as well, Mercy instilled the value of making things for yourself in the girls, as her mother had taught her well. She also taught the girls to appreciate excellent cooking and always made sure they were well fed.

Mercy, Hal, Claire and Molly spent warmer days with family on Elbow or Flathead Lake, as well as camping all over the Northwest when the girls were growing up. After the girls were grown, Mercy and Hal often made time to travel to Hawaii, and spent weekends at their cozy cabin on Georgetown Lake. Mercy had a love for games of all sorts. She played softball and golf for several years, and more recently became quite the pool shark.

Mercy approached life with open arms and an open heart. Having committed over 30 years of her life to nursing, primarily in dialysis, it was her passion to care for others. She shed light on those around her, and enriched the lives of countless patients and colleagues during her career as a nurse in Missoula. She will be remembered for her vibrant energy, enthusiastic laugh, and her openness and generosity to all who crossed her path.

God bless you, sweet Mercy. We pray you are enjoying everlasting life and hope you'll please continue to watch over us.

God bless us and save us and keep us from harm.

Love, Patty