Clara McCormick

April 1, 1916 - May 24, 2011

Clara McCormick, 95, of Corvallis died Tuesday, May 24, in Corvallis. Clara McCormick was born March 1, 1916, in Roseburg. Her parents were Ernest and Janette (Chase) Shank. She attended Portsmouth Elementary and Roosevelt High School in Portland, and graduated from Corvallis High School in 1933 and Oregon State College (University) in 1937. Clara met Robert McCormick while they were students at Oregon State, and they were married in 1938. They spent several years farming near Lebanon. They later moved to Redmond, where Robert was employed by Federal Land Bank as a manager. Robert died in 1970. Clara was a stay-at-home mom until she became secretary to the Redmond Chamber of Commerce during the Oregon Centennial in 1959; later she became secretary to the superintendent-principal at Redmond Union High School. After Robert's death, Clara moved to Corvallis and worked as a secretary for the Oregon Education Association from 1971 to 1981. Her interests have been her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, traveling, playing bridge, ballroom dancing, flower gardening, and listening to popular and classical music. Clara was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and First Congregational United Church of Christ in Corvallis, where she had served on the Diaconate, as a wedding coordinator and on several committees. She had been a volunteer for Chintimini Senior Center, Meals on Wheels and the Bloodmobile. Clara and Olaf Paasche were married June 17, 1999, at Grace Lutheran Church in Corvallis, and moved to Stoneybrook Retirement Lodge in Corvallis that summer. Olaf passed away on Jan. 3, 2008. Survivors include sons James L. McCormick of Houston, Texas, and Steven D. McCormick of Carmichael, Calif.; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. A daughter, Janet K. McCormick Read, passed away in 1992. Services will take place at First Congregational Church; the Rev. Liz Oettinger will officiate. Donations can be made to the First Congregational Church Memorial Fund or Samaritan Evergreen Hospice.