Clara F. Walde

Clara Frieda Walde (Dethlefs) was born on August 9, 1925, the daughter of Henry and Mary Dethlefs (Waderich). She passed away on Saturday, March 9, 2019, at the Eventide Lutheran Home in Denison, Iowa at the age of 93 after a short illness.
Clara was born in rural Castana, Iowa, the sixth of seven children. She was baptized in the Lutheran faith and confirmed at age 14 in Onawa, Iowa. She attended country school near Soldier, IA through the eighth grade.
As a young woman, Clara worked on the family farm and as domestic help for area farm families. She moved to Denison in her early twenties and worked at the Crawford County Hospital as a kitchen aide.
She was united in marriage to Raymond Walde on January 21, 1951, in Onawa, Iowa. Clara and Raymond were blessed with three sons and were married for nearly 63 years until Raymond’s death in December, 2013. Clara continued to live at the family home near Washington Park until 2017 when she moved to Eventide.
Clara was a homemaker for her family and enjoyed a contented life with Raymond and her sons in Denison. She excelled at a variety of needlework tasks including sewing, crocheting, embroidering and quilting. She was an award winning embroiderer with many ribbons from the Crawford County Fair. Clara was also a skilled cook and baker, having gained a local reputation for her bread and gooseberry pies. She was a self-taught wallpaper hanger who papered homes throughout Crawford County from the 1960s through the 1980s. Clara served many years on the Altar Guild at Zion Lutheran where she was a loyal member for over 68 years. She was a kind-hearted person and loving mother who admirably filled many roles throughout her life. Her most cherished role was that of grandmother to her three grandchildren.
Clara was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers: Walter and Henry; and three sisters: Esther Nemitz, Marie Etchison, and Louise Ferris. She is survived by three sons: Russell (Mary); Neal (Susan); Dale (Maureen); three grandchildren: Evan, Bridget, and Maura; one sister: Ella Fester; a brother-in-law: Leonard Walde (Shirley), and sisters-in-law: Wilma Walde, JoAn Walde, Gladys Hagny (Phil), Marilyn Yoakum and Joyce Dethlefs; nephew David Nemitz and wife Janice who provided care and friendship to Clara and Raymond; and many other nieces, nephews and friends.

Memorials for Clara may be directed to the Crawford County Hospice, 105 North Main Street, Denison, IA 51442.