Nolan Funeral Home, Inc.
Clara Katherine Chernes
1918 - 2011
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peggy mccarthy posted a condolence
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Hi Clara, I remember visiting you in the hospital when you were recuperating from a broken bone and you were walking so fast down the hall with your walker that I almost couldn't keep up with you. I also remember sharing breakfast with you on Catalpa St, we loved those Egg McMuffins and of course the hash browns. You were nice a trim and could afford the calories. When we were away for Christmas I remember how Mattie stuck by you, she knew you were a soft touch. I will miss your sense of humor and positive attitude and your medical advice was always spot on. You are missed Clara.
K
Kate Horn posted a condolence
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Oh,Clara! I'm so sorry I wasn't home to be with your Susan, Julie and Brian.You know I was with all of you in spirit. I've known you for about 30 years and I've always been so glad to see you and talk with you - in your doll house out east to your apartment in East Northport ,to the nursing home for your birthday.I remember those Nursing luncheons. It was so nice to be included with you and Su. I'll miss seeing you in Su's home for parties and after the chorale concerts as well as in church listening to Su and I singing in the choir. You looked so pretty at Julie's wedding! I'll miss you Clara. Rest in peace to a wonderful lady.
V
Vivian Elgort posted a condolence
Friday, April 1, 2011
I met Clara late in her life, but I enjoyed visiting her. She was a bright, articulate, pleasant, and kind woman. I also met some of her bear friends. They were an amazing bunch. I know Clara will be sorely missed.
J
Janice Dubroff posted a condolence
Friday, April 1, 2011
The bears! Of course, they come first to mind. A visit with Clara was also a visit with those charming and varied bears. Each had a unique outfit and, more importantly, personality. Clara was not the least shy in drawing visitors into her world of little friends. My Mom and I shared tea with Clara and a variety of her "housemates" several times.
There was something about Clara. I only met her when her working days were long over, yet... there was something in her bearing and her satisfaction with her life that suggested that Clara had been a person of importance to others. Even a surprise visit always found her perfectly coiffed, outfitted and ready to meet with the world or at least an eager visitor.
There was something else aobut Clara, too. And that is the way in which her daughter loved her! Su was as dedicated a daughter as I have EVER met. I can not remember a week going by when you did not bring her a doughnut or some treat or share a breakfast or lunch with her, take her to a restaurant or...countless other moments. You must know, Su, how very, very lucky she was to have you!
M
Marilyn Armstrong posted a condolence
Friday, April 1, 2011
I remember your mother on summer afternoons when we would hang out at your place. She had a wonderful ironic sense of humor ... she was never dull and she always made me laugh.
C
Carole posted a condolence
Friday, April 1, 2011
I remember Clara for her lovely smile, her love of Su and her love of life.
S
Susan Ronneburger posted a condolence
Friday, April 1, 2011
How does one play the entire symphony of a life in just a few measures?
My mother, Clara Chernes was first and foremost a woman of uncommon intelligence. As a girl, her brilliance was largely overlooked, overshadowed by her brother Charles, the apple of every female relation’s eye. (She would tell stories of the aunts coming to take him for an outing on her birthday.) Her father, whom she adored, died of pneumonia at an early age. Thereafter, although I think she felt very much alone, she seemed determined to achieve success in all her endeavors. After graduating from high school, she went on to become a nurse; this at a time when nurse’s training was a difficult, regimented course that only the strongest of women attempted and fewer completed. Her first position and, I believe, her favorite, was in the OR. It was here finally, that her genius was truly appreciated.
She met her husband Joe, the love of her life, when our country was on the verge of World War II. They were married twice – once before his ARMY squad left for Manila, by a Justice of the Peace, and again in a church ceremony upon his return. Like all baby boomers, I was born soon after. Our little family moved to the suburbs where Clara continued her career; now as a Visiting Nurse. Never happy with status quo however, she returned to Columbia on scholarship to earn her Masters, and as I moved on in the public school system, she became a school nurse/teacher, and later taught nursing. Upon re-gaining state accreditation for a high school nursing program in Westbury, she drew the attention of medical educators in Albany who wanted her to start a state-wide program. She declined; she didn’t want to move and realized the tremendous difference she was making in the lives of her high school students, many of whom were underprivileged.
As the years fled by, I grew up and my parents developed and refined their interests and hobbies. They both loved bowling, golf, and baseball. (I can remember coming home from kindergarten to find my mother ready with snacks set up in front of our little b/w TV so we could watch…you guessed it – the Dodgers!) She loved to travel and after retirement they often drove, flew, and cruised, usually with friends.
After several years living alone, my maternal grandmother moved in with us. There followed many tumultuous years as the two tough ladies lovingly butted heads while my father and I (usually) attempted to hide our laughter. Animals too, were a huge part of Clara’s life. She had pets as a child but the ones with which I’m most familiar were part of our family. To say she adored our dogs would be an understatement. We had a Cocker Spaniel named Middleground, and two Huskies; Leisl & Camile. She was devoted to them all, even when Middy ran off with my grandmother’s false teeth. (She ran after him crying, “Clara! He’s smiling at me with my own teeth!”) There were parties of a sort too: Sunday afternoon cocktails where the whisky sours (winter) or daiqueris (summer) flowed generously and the four of us would wind up hysterical puddles of laughter. It must have been one of these events where Clara first stated that she’d never had a Teddy bear. To any of you who know my mother – the rest is history.
My father took it upon himself to present his wife with her very first Teddy. Anthropomorphism followed with alacrity. The bear’s name was Bruno and he was a complete brat. He would throw tantrums; he would hide; he would sulk…and she loved him dearly. More than sixty bears were to follow, each one with a name they would only whisper to her, and a background story that rivaled “War and Peace.” They were orphans and dancers and forest rangers and she never mixed them up or forgot their names.
Clara’s birthday was June 14th - but she used to say that the whole month was her birthday. During the June of 1985, my father and I conspired to make sure she got a birthday card every day. She got a huge kick out of it and sprinkled cards all over the house. The cards took on tremendous importance the following year as Joe, her husband of 45 years passed away. She decided that he had sent all those cards so she would have one for each of the years he could not be with her.
After a difficult period of mourning, Clara once again took up the reins of her life. She moved to a wonderful waterfront community on the East End. She bought a new car; she made new friends, and volunteered at the local hospital and church. She sat at her pool and walked on her dock and cared for stray cats. She read and played Scrabble and traveled with my aunts or her friends; to Ireland, Hawaii, the Far East, always learning, storing the memories like jewels in a box.
Clara did nothing half-way. She loved deeply; she worked assiduously; she played gleefully. She was loyal and tough and demanding. She lived her life with intensity and intelligence and wasted not one of her 92 years.
K
Kathleen Maloney posted a condolence
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
I have so many fond memories of Clara, especially when she lived across Moriches Bay from the house we rented on Dune Road in Westhampton Beach every summer. She generously opened her home and her heart to me, Alan and our 3 young kids during several hurricanes, when we were evacuated from Dune Road. We rode out the storms together in her beautifully decorated home. I was terrified the kids might break something or spill something on the white carpet, but Clara was so relaxed about it, and even let the kids play with her teddy bear collection.
We had many fun times with Clara in good weather too! She always invited us to come swim in her pool and sometimes we would sail across the bay on Alan's catamaran.
I remember how much Clara loved her house on the water, and whenever I look across Moriches Bay from Dune Road, I think of her and the good times we shared.
