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McClarty, Wilma King (Doering) (1939–2009)

By Davina Ochoa

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Davina Ochoa

First Published: January 30, 2023

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Wilma McClarty was an Adventist educator who taught English and education courses at Milo Academy, Kingsway College, Southwestern College, and Southern Adventist University.

Early Life

Wilma King Doering was born July 21, 1939, in Hinsdale, Illinois, to Adventist parents, Alfred Bernhard Doering and Viola King Doering. She had three older sisters, Ardith, Geraldine, and Corrinne, and a younger brother, Alfred, Jr. When Wilma was three years old, her family moved to Berrien Springs, Michigan, where she attended elementary school, academy, and college.1

Education and Marriage

Wilma attended Emmanuel Missionary College Academy (now Andrews Academy), graduating in 1957. Active in student leadership, she was sophomore class vice president, senior class vice president, editor of the Sanjo (student newspaper), and valedictorian of her graduating class.2 She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Andrews University in 1961, and one year later graduated with a Master of Arts in English from the same institution.3

On June 10, 1962, the same day she was awarded her master’s degree, Wilma married Jack Lee McClarty (1938-1997).4 The McClarty’s had a daughter, Julie, and a son, S. Jack.

The McClarty’s both received their doctoral degrees at the same time, graduating on June 9, 1968, the first husband-wife team to earn such degrees simultaneously at the University of Montana. Wilma’s degree was a Doctorate of Education in English. Both McClartys were members of Delta Pau Kappa, a national social science honor society.5 Wilma’s dissertation studied the attitudes of students toward remedial English courses.6

Career

Wilma’s career began at Milo Academy, where she and her husband taught for one year.7 From 1964 to 1965, Wilma taught at English at Kingsway College in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, while her husband was band director for both the secondary and elementary levels.8 Following the completion of their doctoral studies, they went to Southwestern Union College (now Southwestern Adventist University) at Keene, Texas. Here Wilma taught education and English courses from 1968 to 1970,9 and Jack was head of the instrumental program of the music department, with emphasis on band. Their next assignment was at Southern Missionary College (now Southern Adventist University), where Wilma English and chaired the English department while Jack was development director.

Wilma participated in a number of professional activities in addition to teaching. In 1982, she presented a workshop for college teachers entitled "Christianity and Aesthetics in a Postmodern World" at the Christian College Coalition in which she examined “the influence of the Christian Bible on literature, art, and music during the twentieth century.”10 In 1988 McClarty attended the first Institute on the Integration of Faith and Learning sponsored by the General Conference. She was appointed to the two committees as a result.11

Death

Wilma passed away on May 25, 2009. She is buried in the Collegedale Memorial Park. Her husband preceded her in death.12

Contributions13

Wilma McClarty was nominated to be included in the 1969 edition of Outstanding Young Women of America. She was recommended for this honor by the Andrews University Alumni Association. 14 Wilma won several student-sponsored and academic awards, published numerous articles, and delivered countless speeches. She was a pillar of Southern Adventist University, her church, and the community, touching the lives of thousands.

Among her publications was the General Conference Sabbath School Lesson quarterly for the second quarter of 2001, which featured various biographies of biblical characters.15 She also wrote two lessons for the Collegiate Quarterly: “When the Grasshoppers Don't Leap”16 and “Giving the Treasure Away.”17

Sources

“Andrews Academy Celebrates Homecoming.” Lake Union Herald, November 24, 1981.

“Doering-McClarty Wedding.” Lake Union Herald, June 26, 1962.

“Georgia-Cumberland.” Southern Tidings, March 1992.

“Georgia-Cumberland.” Southern Tidings, October 1989.

Kuester, Theda. “Former Receive Faculty Members of Kingsway College Doctorates as Husband and Wife Team.” Canadian Union Messenger, October 15, 1970.

MacIvor, Donald M. “McClartys Receive Degrees.” North Pacific Union Gleaner, June 3, 1968.

“Master’s Degree, Wedding Sunday for Miss Doering.” The Herald-Press (St. Joseph, Michigan), June 4, 1962.

McClarty, Wilma. "Giving the Treasure Away." Collegiate Quarterly, April-June 1985.

McClarty, Wilma. “When the Grasshoppers Don’t Leap.” Collegiate Quarterly, October-December 1983.

McClarty, Wilma King Doering “A Comparison of Academic Performances of Remedial English Students and Freshman Composition Student at the University of Montana and a Study of the Attitudes of These Remedial English Students Toward Remedial English.” Ph.D. diss., University of Montana, 1968.

Official Graduation List.” Andrews University, 2015. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://vault.andrews.edu/vault/app/gradlist/collect_list_of_graduates.

Peressini, Violet. “McClartys Receive Degrees.” North Pacific Gleaner, June 3, 1968.

Shultz, Dan and Wilma McClarty. “Jackie Lee McClarty.” International Adventist Musicians Association, 2004. Accessed January 18, 2023. http://www.iamaonline.com/Bio/Jack_McClarty.htm.

“Secondary School Music Clinic Reveals Excellent Talent.” Atlantic Union Gleaner, March 9, 1982.

“Southwestern Union College Features Strong Educational Department.” Southwestern Union Record, October 24, 1970.

“SUC News Notes.” Southwestern Union Record, October 11, 1969.

“What’s Happening.” Southern Tidings, February 2001.

“Wilma McClarty obituary.” Southern Tidings, August 2009.

Notes

  1. Violet Peressini, “McClartys Receive Degrees,” North Pacific Gleaner, June 3, 1968, 9.↩

  2. “Andrews Academy Celebrates Homecoming,” Lake Union Herald, November 24, 1981, 6.↩

  3. “Official Graduation List,” Andrews University, 2015, accessed January 15, 2023, https://vault.andrews.edu/vault/app/gradlist/collect_list_of_graduates.↩

  4. “Doering-McClarty Wedding,” Lake Union Herald, June 26, 1962, 6; “Master’s Degree, Wedding Sunday for Miss Doering,” The Herald-Press (St. Joseph, Michigan), June 4, 1962, 5.↩

  5. Donald M. MacIvor, “McClartys Receive Degrees,” North Pacific Union Gleaner, June 3, 1968, 9.↩

  6. Wilma King Doering McClarty, “A Comparison of Academic Performances of Remedial English Students and Freshman Composition Student at the University of Montana and a Study of the Attitudes of These Remedial English Students Toward Remedial English” (Ph.D. diss., University of Montana, 1968).↩

  7. Violet Peressini, “McClartys Receive Degrees,” North Pacific Gleaner, June 3, 1968, 9.↩

  8. Kuester, Theda. “Former Receive Faculty Members of Kingsway College Doctorates as Husband and Wife Team.” Canadian Union Messenger, October 15, 1970, 355.↩

  9. “Southwestern Union College Features Strong Educational Department,” Southwestern Union Record, October 24, 1970, 15.↩

  10. “Georgia-Cumberland,” Southern Tidings, October 1989, 8.↩

  11. “Georgia-Cumberland.” Southern Tidings, March 1992, 8.↩

  12. “Wilma McClarty obituary,” Southern Tidings, August 2009, 37.↩

  13. Canadian Union Messenger, volume XXXIX, no. 21.↩

  14. “SUC News Notes,” Southwestern Union Record, October 11, 1969, 15.↩

  15. “What’s Happening,” Southern Tidings, February 2001, 14.↩

  16. Wilma McClarty, “When the Grasshoppers Don’t Leap,” Collegiate Quarterly, October-December 1983, 91.↩

  17. Wilma McClarty, "Giving the Treasure Away," Collegiate Quarterly, April-June 1985, 47.↩

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Ochoa, Davina. "McClarty, Wilma King (Doering) (1939–2009)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 30, 2023. Accessed April 22, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=39RD.

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Ochoa, Davina. "McClarty, Wilma King (Doering) (1939–2009)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 30, 2023. Date of access April 22, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=39RD.

Copy to clipboard Download Word File

Ochoa, Davina (2023, January 30). McClarty, Wilma King (Doering) (1939–2009). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved April 22, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=39RD.

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