Blind woman, 90, from Fawn receives Communion wearing the white dress she never had as a child
As Margaret “Peggy” Muriel Drinkwater Clink tried on the dress, she asked her daughter what color it was.
“It’s white,” said Kim Griffith. “We want you to wear the white Communion dress you never had.”
Clink inquired about the hue because she is blind.
“My daughter said, ‘Mom, try this on,’ so I did,” said Clink, of Fawn, who wore the dress on Sunday as she received Communion at First Baptist Church of Tarentum. I immediately pictured it.”
Griffith, her brother Mark Clink, 66, of Reserve Township and their sister Chrisanne Clink, 59, of Brackenridge, purchased the gown for their mother.
She had never worn a white dress for Confirmation in her native England because her mother could not afford one. So, she could not receive Communion in the Church of England.
Over there, girls wore long white dresses to be confirmed sometime in their early teen years and then they were able to receive Communion.
Clink told that story to her two daughters and son. So they decided to buy her a gown, not only for Communion but as a 91st birthday present.
Clink turns 91 on Monday.
“It gave me chills that my children thought about doing this for me,” said Clink as she modeled the dress last week. “It feels good even though I can’t see it. And it fits.”
The silk-like garment has a pearl belt and scoop neck with cut-out lace detail and a slip. She wore pearl earrings and sandals with white straps.
Clink said because it’s a long gown so she knew she would have to hold it up so she didn’t trip on it when she walked into this church, which she and husband Jesse have been attending for more than 20 years.
When she and husband Jesse, whom she met a dance at Cheltenham, England, when he was in the service, came to the U.S. in the 1950s, they were allowed to receive Communion. But she had never done so in a white dress.
“I think she looks lovely in the dress,” Jesse Clink, 88, of California, Pa., said of his wife of 66 years.
Clink, who lost her sight at age of 45 from by a weakened immune system, said a white dress represents purity and innocence.
“The doctor told me I was going to lose my sight, because my immune system was fighting against itself,” she said. “It was gradual at first. I wasn’t afraid to lose my sight. People said I might not be able to do many things. But I said, yes, I will do things. There are worse things than losing your sight.”
After the church service on Sunday, there were cupcakes for parishioners to take with them to celebrate Clink’s birthday.
She said she often thinks of the girls who parents may not be able to afford a white dress.
“In England it was very much a class distinction to afford a white dress,” Clink said. “I always told my children if someone is not dressed as well as you don’t discriminate because at one time I was that child who wasn’t dressed well. Be kind to others.”
Chrisanne Clink said she didn’t about her mother not having a white dress until she told her children the story. Chrisanne Clink said her mother is a woman who has done so many things out of the ordinary.
“Wearing this dress is one of those things,” Chrisanne Clink said.
Her mother said Communion is always a special memory and “it doesn’t matter what dress you wear.”
“It’s the Communion that matters,” she said. “It’s the memory of the savior. “If my mother could see me now she would say…’Don’t worry. I see you finally have your white dress.’”
Even though she can’t physically see it, Clink envisions that too.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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