Clara Ayres

Clara May Turner Ayres died in Port Orchard, Washington on September 13, 2007 at the age of 100. She was born on June 28, 1907 in Manila, Philippine Islands. She graduated from the University of Washington and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and worked for many years as a nurse. Her husband's career as a professor of mathematics and his tours in the U.S. Naval Reserve took the family to various locations around the United States. Clara May is survived by daughters Betty Jesch of Port Orchard and Evelyn Starr of Monterey, California, in addition to five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Horace C. Ayres, in 1975 and her son, Horace C. Ayres, Jr., in 1981. She will be remembered for her optimism, enthusiasm and lifelong interest in learning. Her activities included studying a variety of musical instruments and writing short stories and poems, including this poem from her limited-printing book "Just Clara May":      "When I write or read some poetry      My spirits rise so high            and depression flies away.      I hope that heaven is full of poets      That I can sit close to, and listen           While all eternity flies by." Another on-line memorial with additional photos can be viewed at http://www.starrsites.com/ClaraMay/