Meet the Founder
While many see a calling, Maria sees a sacred promise. Over two decades since the passing of her beloved daughter, Nevaeh, Maria has channeled her personal grief into a life-changing mission for others. She established the Shadow of Death Foundation to fulfill a single, vital objective: ensuring no parent faces the heartache of losing a child in isolation.
Supported by her Christian values and a conviction that active empathy restores lives, Maria leads an organization that prioritizes tangible action over simple sympathy. By providing bereavement counseling, funeral aid, educational initiatives, and collaborative community partnerships, she fosters a network of care designed to sustain families through their most difficult trials.
Maria’s commitment reaches further than direct family care. She is dedicated to training healthcare professionals, religious leaders, and emergency responders, providing them with the necessary skills to support grieving individuals with profound sensitivity. Her guiding principle remains constant:
"Every tear tells a story that deserves to be honored. Within the grace of God, none of that sorrow is lost."
Maria recognizes that while the void of infant loss remains, the weight of the journey can be shared. Through her foundation, she cultivates a sanctuary where every child’s memory is cherished, every grieving voice is heard, and the seeds of recovery are planted.
"We lean on faith for our strength; our duty is to serve those in need."
Maria Clark: Founder of The Shadow of Death Inc.
Our Story
Why we do this work...
“In the first moments of receiving that call that Nevaeh had ‘turned blue and was being rushed by ambulance to the hospital’... I began a dialogue with my Creator.
I jumped into action as I had heard all my life! I began to ‘rebuke the enemy and tell him to take his hands off my baby.’
But... immediately the Lord whispered, ‘I hold the keys of life and death, the enemy doesn’t have that power over her...’
I got a vision of me and my husband dedicating her the Lord in our church just one week prior. I mumbled while I gasped for air, ‘Then let your will be done... but please don’t take my baby.’
We were an hour away from home and bumper-to-bumper traffic. In those moments, I looked up at the sky, and I said, ‘Are you kidding me? Is this gonna be my story???’
I felt the anger, the pain rising, and I heard the Lord say... ‘What are we gonna do? Do you want to walk this with me? Or do you want me to stay away? The choice is yours.’ Such a gracious Father. He allowed me to choose.
And with what felt like my last breath, I uttered, ‘I need you’... and PEACE rushed in.
It didn’t make sense, but I declared in THAT moment, as I looked at my husband and said, ‘This will not take my faith!’
When the Lord gave me the name Shadow of Death... He reminded me that ‘the SUN has to be present for there to be a Shadow!’
My story reminds me that when LIFE tossed me into a storm, I had to choose the SON as quickly as I could.
I know that if months and weeks had passed, I would have slide into darkness and locked my heart away from the Son. Coming back would have always been possible, BUT the journey would have been harder.
So now this foundation is here to attempt to meet with families within the first few days of infant loss.
To sit with them. Pray with them. To encourage their families. To offer help with burial and mental health access.
We want to meet them before the darkness fully attacks them, and we want to remind them the SON of God is with them in the Shadow of Death.”