Christine Virginia Tearney

Christine Virginia Tearney, a longtime resident of Clear Lake, Ind., passed from this life amidst the love and affection of her family on May 4, 2019, at Lakeland Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Angola, Ind., where she had been living since July of 2017.

Christine was born to John and Mary Wills in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, Mich., on Oct. 15, 1923, the third of five children. Her parents were born in Ireland and her Irish heritage was something she took pride in throughout her life.

She attended schools in Detroit and later, Ypsilanti, Mich. After high school she attended Eastern Michigan Normal University before enrolling in nursing cadet training during World War II, beginning a long career as a registered nurse. She spent much of that at Cameron Hospital/Bryan Medical Center in Bryan, Ohio.

She married Raymond Ruel Tearney on April 23, 1949, at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Ann Arbor, Mich. She and Ray raised their growing family in a number of states, including Ohio, Michigan, Florida and Washington, before finally settling at their home on Clear Lake, Ind. Ray preceded her in death on May 24, 2010.

Throughout her life, Christine was sustained and nurtured by her Catholic faith. She was active in local parishes, particularly St. Paul’s Chapel at Clear Lake, where she took part in the choir and especially enjoyed arranging flowers for the altar. She was particularly devoted to the Blessed Mother.

She loved her home at Clear Lake, where she enjoyed flower gardening, bird watching, fishing with her husband and walks along the lakeshore. Sunsets over the water and the seasonal changes in the lake’s appearance particularly delighted her. She enjoyed watching sports on television and was a big fan of the University of Michigan Wolverines.

She was the center of family life for her eight children and took great delight in her 19 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. She was a great whistler, using that talent to call her children home for supper from neighborhoods wherever they lived.

She is survived by her four daughters and four sons: Kathleen “Kit” (Eric) Tyler, of Clear Lake; Patrick (Mary Fran Lepeska) of Port Washington, Wis.; Kevin (Lynn) of Perrysburg, Ohio; Michael (Julie Cashmer) of Bryan, Ohio; Timothy (Kim) of Fremont, Ind.; Bridgett of Clear Lake; Megan (Darren) Zink, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Kristin (Timothy) Fee, of Mishawaka, Ind. She is also survived by her sister, Cecelia “Betty” Ellis, of Boston, Mass, formerly of Ann Arbor, Mich. Nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews and cousins as well as other relatives and friends further survive her.

In addition to her husband, Raymond, she was preceded in death by: Her parents, a brother, John, two sisters and their husbands, Mary (Jerry) Croghan and Margaret “Honey” (Eugene) Ostlund, as well as other relatives and friends.

The Requiem Mass for Christine will be celebrated on Thursday, May 9, at St. Paul Catholic Chapel, Clear Lake at 11 a.m. Internment will follow at Ray-Covenanter Cemetery, Fremont, Ind.

Visitation will take place Wednesday, May 8, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Beams Funeral Home in Fremont. A rosary service will take place at 7 p.m.

Memorials are to St. Paul Catholic Chapel.

The family would like to thank the many people at Lakeland Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center who helped make her comfortable during her time there.