The only child of Datha Parris Donaldson and Herbert G. Simmons, Muriel Stark was born in Boston, MA in 1928 and spent her earliest years in Cambridge, MA. At five, she emigrated to Barbados, where she was raised by her maternal grandparents in St. Michael and attended the South District Girls School with many of her cousins.
In 1949, she returned to the U.S. and lived with her mother in Back Bay. She enrolled in the Boston Clerical School, where she was elected by her peers as Class President, and went on to attend Burdett College in Boston.
Her return to New England meant that she was able to forge strong relationships with her large extended family living in Boston, including her half-brother, Herbert “Spunky” Simmons. These relationships remained an essential part of her life until her death. There was rarely a family wedding, celebration or funeral where she was not in attendance–even online. Last fall, she took part in her second virtual family reunion on Zoom.
After graduating from Burdett, Muriel worked as a secretary with the American Friends Service Committee and as a clerk and typist at the Boston Lying-In Hospital, which later became Brigham and Women's Hospital. However, it was her position as a salesperson at Filene’s Basement that changed her life forever. A friend of the family came by her job to say, hello. In his company was a friend who had served with him in the Army. According to Muriel, it was “love at first sight,” though it would be several years before Joseph Stark would pop the question. The two married at Trinity Church in Boston in December 1957. Over the next 10 years, they would move from Back Bay to Roxbury to Brookline and welcome three children. The two were married for 38 years until Joseph’s death in 1996.
Muriel’s roles as wife and mother allowed her to realize her strong commitment to education and community service. She was a trustee and long-serving member of the Parents Association at the Brimmer and May School in Chestnut Hill, MA, where the graduating Class of 1980 named her an Honorary Class Member. She was a volunteer and co-founder of the daycare program at Freedom House in Roxbury and a co-founder of St. Mark's Nursery School in Brookline. She volunteered as a mentor at the Heath School in Brookline, taking part in the Buddies Program, where she read stories to young children. Later, she volunteered with the Tuesday Food Pantry in Brookline, became a member of the Campaign to Re-Elect Shirley Owens-Hicks in Boston, and served as a Block Captain for Brookline’s Crime Watch.
Her Christian faith played a significant role in her life from an early age. In her youth, Muriel taught Sunday School at St. Barnabas Anglican Church in Barbados. In 1957, she and her husband became members of Trinity Church, where they were active members for the rest of their lives. Muriel joined the Hardy Perennials senior group and supported Sherrill House, the skilled nursing and rehabilitation center affiliated with the church. When she was no longer able to attend Trinity in person, Muriel faithfully watched services online until her final weeks.
She was a quintessential social butterfly, cultivating friends and adopting surrogate families wherever she went. She volunteered with local schools’ Grandparent’s Days, standing in for grandparents who could not attend. She was an active participant at the Brookline Senior Center and the Brookline Library Book Club. She loved trips to Rockport, MA, and Symphony Concerts at Tanglewood with friends and was a regular listener of WCRB, which was a constant companion in her final days. During COVID, when she was unable to visit with friends and loved ones in person, she maintained a regular call list to check in with friends and family around the globe.
She was a constant gardener, taking great pride in her peonies and roses and making annual pilgrimages to the New England Flower Show. She was an avid quilter. She loved to gift her crafted creations to celebrate graduations, weddings, and new babies. She lent her creative talents to the Brookline Bees quilting group at the Brookline Senior Center.
Muriel was known for her remarkable memory, recalling friends and long-forgotten details from the distant past. She could name elementary school classmates and recall multiple stanzas of hymns putting her family to shame by not using the hymnal during service. Recently, she recounted a detailed conversation with Nurse Brown, who assisted her with the delivery of her first child in 1958. She could recite all of the 10 Commandments in and out of order and remembered numerous friends' and family members’ birthdays.
She was a lifelong learner and occasional activist, attending educational seminars, literary events, fundraisers, political forums, concerts, and other cultural and arts events. She was thrilled to meet pianist Claudio Arrau after his performance at Symphony Hall and attend Luciano Pavoratti’s historic concert at the Esplanade.
Muriel was proud of her life well-lived and the family she built with her husband. She passed away peacefully at her home on September 3, 2022, at 94. She leaves behind her children, Andre, Shelley (Louis Jackson), and Nicole; daughter-in-law, Elizabeth; grandchildren Shane, Holland, and Spenser; and countless relatives and friends.
A memorial service will be held at Trinity Church Boston on September 29, 2022. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the (United Negro College Fund) www.uncf.org and the Brookline Senior Center in Brookline, MA. www.brooklineseniorcenter.org