Clara Catherine Shanks Proctor

Clara Catherine Shanks Proctor, age 101, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 8, 2021 in Houston, TX. She was born October 23, 1920 in Annapolis, IL the daughter of Homer Shanks and Myrtie Chapman Shanks. On February 8, 1953 she married Gerald Eugene “Gene” Proctor. He passed away on September 4, 2002.

Survivors include her daughter, Jeanette Bottom (Robert); brother, Lee Shanks; sisters Helen Bush and Lois Birmingham; granddaughters, Lydia Bottom, Hannah Barber (Donald), Elizabeth Ajanel (Jesse) and Joy Bottom; great grandchildren, Benjamin, Amelia and Micah Ajanel and Verity, Donald and Robert Barber.

Clara was preceded in death by her parents, husband and siblings, Cleda Adkisson, Noble Shanks, Don Shanks and Marjorie Thompson.

Clara was a graduate of Casey Township High School, earned her undergrad degree at Bob Jones College in 1949, and then received her master’s degree in Education from East Texas State University in 1972. She was a private kindergarten, substitute and junior high school teacher, a leader in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for some years, and homemaker. She enjoyed sewing, quilting, embroidery, traveling, and in later years, playing with her great grandchildren. Clara was a faithful member of the Second Baptist Church of Houston.