Mary Higgins Clark

Mary Higgins Clark, known as the “queen of suspense” to her millions of readers throughout the world, died of natural causes in Naples, Fla., Jan. 31. She was 92.

The author of more than 50 novels, the popular Bronx-born author is also remembered for her strong Catholic upbringing and the way she portrayed courageous Catholic heroines in the bulk of her fiction.

Ms. Higgins Clark’s latest book, “Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die,” was released by Simon & Schuster in November.

She served as the grand marshal of the 2011 New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Her father was an Irish immigrant and her mother was the daughter of Irish immigrants.

She was raised in St. Francis Xavier parish, the Bronx, and attended the parish school of the same name. She went on to Villa Maria Academy, also in the Bronx, where one-time principal Mother St. Margaret of the Angels encouraged her first efforts at storytelling.

Cardinal Dolan, in a Feb. 5 blog post, recalled visiting Ms. Clark in the hospital in early December, only to see her at a Catholic Charities luncheon the day after her release. “Rarely would she miss an archdiocesan function, or ignore a request for donations. Her Catholic faith was deep, sincere and humble.”

This past Christmas Eve, Cardinal Dolan celebrated Mass for Ms. Higgins Clark and her family at her home in Saddle River, N.J.
Coinciding with the release of the “Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die” book, Catholic News Service in November profiled Ms. Higgins Clark as one of the most widely read authors in its Catholic writer series. In that profile, Ms. Higgins Clark outlined her use of strong Catholic protagonists who persevere against danger and intrigue to carry on in life’s daily struggles.

She explained her rationale for character-building in her November profile. “As far as my use of Catholic protagonists and heroines, I attribute that to the best piece of advice I ever received as a young writer in a workshop. The professor said, ‘Write what you know,’” Ms. Higgins Clark said.

“I’d grown up observing examples of Catholic women who were strong figures and persevered against difficult odds. It was natural to model my characters after the people I knew.”
Before finding her niche as a suspense writer, Ms. Higgins Clark struggled to raise five children as a single parent in New York City. Widowed in her mid-30s, she wrote radio scripts before striking success in 1975 with her first big-selling book, “Where Are the Children?” Buoyed by that success, she turned to full-time writing and enjoyed astonishing success.

Before that, she sold her first story, “Stowaway,” to Extension magazine, a Catholic publication, in 1956.

In later years, she co-authored books with her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, also a suspense writer.

Msgr. Frank Del Prete, pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel parish in Saddle River, remembers Ms. Higgins Clark not only as a talented writer but also as a lively, committed parishioner.

“Mary was a faith-filled, active parishioner at St. Gabriel’s. When she came to Mass, she sat in the front row,” he told CNS Feb. 1.

“Mary’s faith sustained her during the difficult moments of her life. In recent months, when her illness prevented her from coming to Mass, it really bothered her that she was not able to attend.”

Msgr. Del Prete was portrayed as “Father Fred” in the late author’s “I’ve Got My Eyes on You,” published in 2018.

In 1996, she married John Conheeney, retired chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch Futures. They met on St. Patrick’s Day, and married near the end of that year. He died in 2018.

She is survived by five grown children from her first marriage, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Her Funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 7 by Metuchen Bishop Emeritus Paul Bootkoski.

Burial was at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne.—CNS