Claire C. Strickler, 93
Whitefish Pilot | UPDATED 1 day, 23 hours AGO
Claire Church Strickler, 93, died in Broomfield, Colorado on Oct. 7, 2024. She was born Sept. 21, 1931, in Syracuse, New York, to Stanley and Arlene Werfelman Church. She attended schools in Petersburg, Virginia; Henderson, Kentucky; and graduated from Ashland High School in Ashland, Kentucky. She graduated from Syracuse University with a B.S. in 1953 and later received a B.A. in early childhood education from Washington State University.
Clare was married to M. Dee Strickler on June 1, 1953, in Syracuse. They had three children and several foster children. They farmed for three years near Clarkston, Washington and then moved to Pullman, Washington where Dee was on the faculty of Washington State University for 19 years. In Pullman, she co-founded the Pullman Nursery School.
The Stricklers moved to Whitefish in 1976 to start Strickler-Taylor Lumber Co. When that business closed in 1980, she became the first preschool teacher at Cross Currents Christian School, now the Whitefish Christian Academy. Later she served as principal for five years before retiring in 1991.
She was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Whitefish and was active on committees of Glacier Presbytery. She served as Moderator of the Presbytery in 2013. Other community activities included membership on the Whitefish City-County Planning Board for 10 years, and the P.E.O. Sisterhood. She also served as president of the Flathead County League of Women Voters for 3 ½ years. She moved to Sunrise Senior Living in Broomfield in 2015 and was a member of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Boulder.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Dee and their eldest son, Jack.
She is survived by Jack's widow Diana, and grandson Glenn of Denver, Colorado; daughter, Zoe of Mansfield, Connecticut and grandchild Adrian, of Corvallis, Oregon; son, Walter of Boulder, and foster son Sanjay Narasimhalu of Boerne, Texas.
The Memorial Service was held on Nov. 2, at the Sunrise Community Life Room. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that the donations be sent to Habitat for Humanity, 322 West Lamar St., Americus, GA 31709-3543 (or habitat.org) or Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700 (or pda.pcusa.org).