"I loved working with Clara when we both drove school buses. I enjoyed talking with her when we had a few minutes between times, she was a sweet and caring lady, she always talked about her family and how proud she was of them. RIP, dear lady!!"
In loving memory of
Clara J. McCleary
April 12, 1936 - September 2, 2017
CLARA MC CLEARY
MUSCATINE, Iowa - Clara J. McCleary, 81, of Muscatine, passed away on Saturday, September 2, 2017, at her home.
Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 6, 2017, at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home. Aurial Luna will officiate. Honorary bearers will be Scott Miller Jr., Brian Miller, Joseph Starkweather Jr., Benjemen McCleary, Michael McCleary, and Richard Olinger. A time of food and fellowship will follow the service at the Muscatine Baptist Chapel, 1235 Lincoln Blvd. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery at a later date. Visitation will be from 4 until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5, 2017, at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the church. Online condolences: www.wittichfuneralhome.com
Clara was born on April 12, 1936, in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of William Richard and Clara V. McDonald Heck Jr. She married Thomas McCleary on May 24, 1953, in Muscatine.
Clara drove a Muscatine School Bus for 30 years and owned and operated Tom's Market for 35 plus years. She loved her family, gardening, gambling, playing cards, and Goodwill bargains. She was a member of the Ladies of the Moose, and the American Legion and V.F.W. Women's Auxiliaries. She and Tom celebrated their 64th Wedding Anniversary in May and has lived on the Muscatine Island all of her life.
Survivors include her husband, Thomas McCleary Sr.; her children, Cindy J. and Jerry Adkison, Tina A. and Roger Kammerer, Thomas M. and Suzanne McCleary Jr., and Lisa I. Gary Estabrook Jr.; seven grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and siblings, Barbara and Don Baker, Darla Olinger, and Charlie, Nancy and Mary Lou Heck.
She was preceded in death by her parents; one brother, William Richard Heck III; and one granddaughter, Sara J. Creamer.
Tributes
"There are not enough words to say what a wonderful and very caring person she was and still is in heaven. "
"love never leaves the heart sending our thoughts and prayers."
"Driving that school bus all those years for the kids on the island. Waving smiling looking in her mirror overhead and telling the kids to find a seat. Our hearts and prayers are with you at this time. Tina please know we are sorry we can't be there for you but she is no more in pain or stuck in a bed. Love to you all at this time"
"To all the family ,we are so sorry for your loss,we are saying prayers for all of you"
"Clara will be deeply missed by all of us at Goodwill! She would always brighten our day when she'd come in to shop! Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends, she truly was a special person who brought smiles and joy to all those around her!"
"She was beautiful inside and out. I always enjoyed talking to her."
"Clara was a wonderful lady in so many wonderful ways that lady had class in the way she dressed a wonderful card player she will be deeply missed by so many of those of us "