Clem

Martha Pengelly Hiack Clem, 82, formerly of New Castle Street, died at 11:48 p.m. Friday at the Good Samaritan Hospice of Wexford.

Born in Mt. Carmey, Aug. 3, 1925, she was the daughter of the Rev. Frank and Helena Bessie Pengelly Hiack.

She came to Butler at the age of 2, when her father became pastor of Bethany Reformed Church, later the United Church of Christ.

Mrs. Clem served on the news staff of the Butler Eagle for 43 years, from May 1947 to May 1990, as arts editor, obituary editor, librarian and secretary to editors and publishers, the late John L. Wise Sr. and John L. Wise Jr.

She was a lifelong member of Bethany United Church of Christ; and when Bethany merged with St. Paul's United Church of Christ, she became a member of the resulting Faith Reformed Church. She also was a member of the Women's Commission of the Butler Interfaith Fellowship and had at one time been Bethany's representative to the Fellowship.

Mrs. Clem was a member of the GFWC Woman's Club of Butler, where she served as secretary from 1990 to 1998; and the Butler Eagle Retirees. She had been a volunteer with the American Red Cross Blood Drives and the Butler Community Table at Faith Church. She formerly sang with several area choirs, most recently, the Meridian Community Choir.

She had served on the Butler Little Theatre Harlequin Awards Committee and had received its Board of Directors Award in 1978 and 1990.

Upon her retirement, she was named an honorary member of the Associated Artists of Butler County and an honorary life member of the Butler Little Theatre Guild.

She was a former board member of the Butler County Symphony Association and of the Lending Hands group of the Butler County Community College Library. She also was a former member of the International Music Critics Association, based in Washington, D.C., and had served a term on its board of directors.

She had chaired the 1974 After Prom Committee at Butler High School, the first woman to be sole chairman of the event.

A1942 graduate of Butler High School and a 1946 graduate of Grove City College, she took additional courses at Syracuse University and in the Butler High School and Butler County Community College Adult Education programs.

She is survived by a son, John Clem and his wife, Wendy, of Cranberry Township; two granddaughters, Christie and Lisa Clem; a sister, Mrs. Ruth Carey of Johnstown, N.Y.; a brother, Dr. Paul S. Hiack of Levittown; a niece; four nephews; five grandnieces and a grandnephew; and a number of cousins.

A sister preceded her in death.

<B>CLEM </B>— Friends and family of Martha Pengelly Hiack Clem, who died Friday, July 11, 2008, will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the <B>Thompson-Miller Funeral Home</B>, 124 E. North St. Funeral services will follow at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home with the Rev. James Bertotti, pastor of St. Peter's Reformed Church, officiating. Interment will follow in the North Side Cemetery.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Building Fund of St. Peter's Reformed Church, 320 E. Grandview Ave., Zelienople, PA 16063.Information and a private guest book are available at www.thompson-miller.com.