Clara Ellen Gerhart

Clara Ellen Gerhart went to be with her Savior November 22, at 1:14 a.m.  Clara was born February 12, 1906 just north of Lawrenceville to Charles T. and Gertrude Glosser Fritchie.  She was the oldest of five siblings.  She attended Blackburn and Sand Ridge elementary schools and was a member of Lawrenceville High School Class of 1925.  She worked at the Indian Refinery (Texaco) before marrying Charles J. Gerhart on September 8, 1928.Clara has lived all her married life on the Allison Prairie farm where all four of  her daughters were born and raised:  Ellen Simpson Pardieck, Columbus, IN, SueGerhart and Rose Robeson, Lawrenceville, IL and Martha Wallace, Princeton, IN.  She has six grandchildren:  Mary Ellen Newlin, Nineveh, IN, David Simpson, Rushville, IL  Roberta Rink, Plainville, IN, Jennifer Wallace, Memphis, TN  Mike Wallace, Seneca, SC and Diana Akles, Nineveh, IN.  She has 10 great grandchildren. All survive.Clara provided a loving and fun home for her family.  She served many meals for friends and family as they came to the country farm to share in the bounty of their garden, feedlot, hunting, fishing, and mushrooming.  She especially enjoyed crocheting and giving away her handiwork.Clara was a devoted and caring mother and grandmother, an exemplary neighbor, a faithful member of Rising Sun Christian Church and served on Lawrence County's Senior Citizen Board.Clara was preceded in death by her parents and four siblings:  Lyman Fritchie, Coen Fritchie, Jean Bline and Nolan Fritchie and her husband Charles J. Gerhart (1988).Services are at 10:00 a.m. Monday, November 24 at Emmons-Macey & Steffey funeral home with Garth Whewell officiating.  Intermittent will be in the Centerville Cemetery on Allison Prairie.  Visitation is from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, November 23 at Emmons-Macey & Steffey Funeral Home.  Memorial contributions may be made to Rising Sun Christian Church or the Centerville Cemetery Fund.