Clara Louise Catron

Just a few days shy of her 80th birthday, Clara (Beer) Catron passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at her home in Mansfield, OH, leaving behind a trail of precious memories and a legacy of love and kindness that will forever be cherished. Her family and friends were blessed beyond measure to have known, loved, and have been loved by Clara.

She will be dearly missed by her family, including her son Jeffery “Toby” (Amy) Catron, her daughter Angie (Mick) Fanello, her grandchildren Jake, Andy, Caitlin and Corinne, her siblings Joel (Sue) Beer, Marge (Henry) Mann, Fran (Chris) Stump, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her loving parents David and Lena Beer, her sister Becky (Dick) Vent, her brother William Beer, and other beloved extended family members.

Clara was a member of Crossroads Church and she enjoyed gathering with her Seamless Sisters bible study group. She spent countless hours serving at Crossroads with numerous teams including the greeting team, cleaning team, leadership team, and missions team. However, the serving activity that held an extra-special place in her heart was Adopt-a-Child (now known as Blessings & Bows), where the team worked tirelessly year-round to ensure that hundreds of children felt the spirit of giving at Christmastime through gifts and keepsake gift tags. The tags and many other adorable items were created by a creative group of individuals called “Cricut Connection”, which Clara led passionately for several years. Clara also had many cherished memories from her travels with her Crossroads family, including visiting Israel, two mission trips to Guatemala, and a mission trip to Cambodia. Sponsoring children in both Guatemala and Cambodia was especially meaningful for Clara, and she always looked forward to communicating with and even meeting the children.

Clara often fondly told stories from her childhood, including being a baby coming home from the Mansfield hospital up the farmhouse lane in a manure spreader because the snow was too deep for other vehicles. Clara would say that while growing up on a farm money was sometimes scarce, the love was always plentiful.

After graduating from Shelby High School, Clara furthered her education by training at IBM, then worked at Tappan before leaving employment to be a full-time mom. Although she held various other jobs over the years, her passion and greatest enjoyment came from raising her two children and later tending to her four grandchildren while their parents were at work (she fondly called all six her “brattin’ kids” and her grandkids called her “Gram” along with some comical variations).

Clara was humble, modest and kind. She would go to great lengths to avoid being the center of attention, but she led through example and excelled in virtually everything she put her mind to. Clara took pleasure in keeping her home and vehicles clean and she was forever eager for a challenge or to try out new tools and gadgets. She was always involved in countless projects and hobbies such as wood-refinishing, holiday decorating, genealogy, home renovation, Cricuting, cooking/baking, crocheting and knitting, landscaping and tending flowerbeds (especially her petunias and roses). Once Clara mastered a skill, she quickly became bored and was ready to move on to the next challenge. She even “flipped” an entire house at the age of 65, doing many of the extensive repairs herself.

Clara had a special fondness for the color purple and collecting (and polishing) rocks. Months would pass without her turning her TV on because she preferred spending her time on the various activities mentioned above. Clara also enjoyed reading, nature, silent time spent in prayer, and simply being downright silly with innocent mischief. She was known to use creative words such as “gads” or “cripe”. She had an adventurous spirit and loved to travel with her family - some extra-special destinations with family included Hawaii, various beaches, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah (Arches National Park was her favorite- she called it “God’s handiwork”)!

Clara’s love for her family and friends knew no bounds and time spent together was an absolute joy for all. Anyone who knew Clara would say that raising her children and being an extremely involved and loving Grandma was an enormous source of joy and delight for her, and the pure comfort her blanket of love and unwavering support provided will be sorely missed. There simply is no end to all the wonderful memories Clara made with her loved ones over the years, and we know the love and memories will live on far beyond her passing.

In lieu of flowers, Clara has requested donations be made to the Crossroads Church Blessings & Bows program to benefit local children and families at Christmastime. Her family will receive a list of people who honored her in this way.

Mailing address: Crossroads Church 1188 Park Ave W. Mansfield, Ohio 44906 Please put “Clara Catron” in the memo line.

Online: www.crossroadswired.com In the dropdown menu, select “give”, then “Mansfield campus”, then “local missions”. Please put “Clara Catron” in the memo line.

Another way you can honor Clara is to use her favorite term of endearment and tell your loved ones often, “I love you to pieces”!

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Crossroads Church, 1188 Park Ave West, Mansfield on Monday, December 2 from 3:30-5:30pm with a service at 5:30pm. Light refreshments will also be offered after the service. Pastor Jake Christy of Crossroads Church will officiate. Everyone joining in remembering Clara at the service are encouraged to bring their favorite photos, and a time during the service will also be set aside to share special memories. Clara's final resting place will be Lantz Cemetery in Mansfield.

Wappner Funeral Directors – Ontario is honored to serve the family.