Friday, April 14, 2023
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Claire is my older sister. I still cannot come to terms with the reality that she is no longer amongst us. One of eight children of Clyde and Barbara Perkins, she was a middle child who, was quiet and self reliant. She would keep herself entertained for hours and would draw us into her games. Helping mom put groceries away she would play grocery store. We would pretend to add up the canned foods as we put the cans away neatly and in order on kitchen shelves. Our most favorite pretend time was when Claire would pull out this huge chalk board to play school. Claire was the teacher. Going to a Catholic School she would dress up as Sister Helen Claire. She would take one of my Mom’s half slips put in on her head to wear as a Vail. She would get my mothers large prayer beads to wear around her waist and fashion a clicker out of clothes pins. She had a captivated class of students with myself my sisters Jo and Benny and a couple of neighborhood kids as her students. And just like Sister Helen Claire she gave stars and demerits. When it became time for someone else to play teacher, the game was never as fun.
My sister Claire was the smart one. She had a Stephen Wright sense of humor. She could deliver ironic one liners like she was deadpan serious. She had a sarcastic wit that would make you belly roll laugh. It makes me laugh just thinking about her!
This is a painful time for my family. For the most part we are coping and dealing with our grief and the loss of our sister Claire. I am thankful I have Claire’s daughter Emily and my brother and sisters to lean on. We have the hope that Claire is in Heaven with Dad and Mom, our brother Bob and sister Claudia and our extended family and they are all watching over us.
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