My Friend Claire by Holly Otten

Claire Campbell
April 14, 1942 - February 7, 2023

This photo sums it up! Claire made me laugh! She brought me joy! She accepted me and loved me unconditionally. 
     Claire and I met 10 years ago at a Christian women's group. As the group was being discontinued, Claire began to weep. When I asked her why she was weeping, she replied, "Because I won't get to see you anymore." Right then, I knew that I needed to get her phone number and make it a point to visit her. And this I did, happily.
     Once Claire went to live at Riverview Healthcare, we would take Claire to visit for the day in our home, and so it happened, that she won a place in the heart of my family. It was like we adopted Claire, which was wonderful, because my husband and I do not have family members who live locally. My husband Steve, two of our sons and our daughter came to enjoy Claire's company just the way I did. And there was a bonus for Claire, because she loved to be around our 4 cats. Several times we brought Claire to our home for summer cookouts and on those days she loved spending time with the little ones. 
     Claire loved to go out for lunch and Newport Creamery was a favorite. That was because she loved to order their Awful Awfuls. For the last few years we took Claire out to eat for Chinese food on Christmas Eve. This was following a Christmas Eve service at her church, Faith Fellowship. On all of these occasions, Claire filled our hearts with love and so we weren't so lonely in the absence of our relatives. 
     I'm going to miss Claire's jokes, in which she never was at a loss. No matter how badly she felt or how dismal things looked, she always found some humor in life's circumstances. She was a vessel of God's joy and His love. I want to thank God for the gift of Claire in my life and in my family. I would like to ask Him to give her the biggest bear hug He can muster. And also, to tell her that I love her. 

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