Sharp, Marianne Clark, 1901-1990

Marianne Clark Sharp (1901-1990) was in the Relief Society General Board in 1940 and eventually became the first counselor of the Relief Society General Presidency.

Marianne Clark Sharp was born October 28, 1901 to Luacine Annette Savage and Joshua Reuben Clark, Jr. in Salt Lake City, Utah. She spent her school days in Washington D. C. and then moved back to Utah with her family to attend the University of Utah, where she graduated in ancient languages in 1924. She taught Latin her senior year at the University and Stewart Training School and continued teaching after graduation. She married Ivor Sharp on June 15, 1927 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They lived in New York City for eleven years while he worked at the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.

Sharp was very active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was appointed to the Relief Society General Board in 1940. In 1943 she became the associate editor of Relief Society Magazine and continued to serve in this position until the demise of the magazine in 1971. She was called to be the first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency of the Church in 1945. She received an honorary doctor’s degree of humanities from Brigham Young University in 1974. She also served as a delegate to the 75th anniversary conference of the International Council of Women, which was held in Montreal and Washington D.C. She died January 2, 1990 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

From the guide to the Marianne Clark Sharp papers, approximately 1907-1989, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)