Emily Howell Clary passed away Sunday, Feb. 2, 2003, after a long battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and Alzheimer’s disease.

She was born on March 29, 1926, the youngest of eight children born to Charlie and Mary Augustus Howell in Nansemond County.

Mrs. Clary worked as a medical secretary and office manager for more than 30 years in the offices of Drs. L.T. and M.W. Reid until they retired, and in the offices of Drs. Angela Mercer and Timothy Marshall until she retired in 1991.

Before her illness took hold, Mrs. Clary was an active member of the East End Baptist Church, the Imperial Crescent Club and of the group ACTION (All Citizens Taking Initiatives on Needs, Inc.), which led a successful effort to restore the facility that housed East Suffolk High School.

Mrs. Clary was a 1943 graduate of East Suffolk High.

She is survived by three children, Paula C. Davis (Charles), Charlene C. Lee (Charles), and son Charles W. Clary Jr. (Elizabeth); grandchildren, Geri D. Redd (Ron), Jason Davis, Richard H. Lee and Alicia N. Lee; and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in East End Baptist Church. Interment will be held in Carver Cemetery.

The family will assemble at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Crocker Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages friends to make donations to the local Alzheimer’s Association.