Clara Lucille Breisch

Clara Lucille Breisch, 90, of Carmel, Indiana, passed away peacefully on November 19, 2020, from COVID-19.

Clara was born at home in Brown County, Wisconsin, to Sophia (Stanelle) and Orvin Kreiman.  She grew up and attended school in the Wayside area.  Her parents were proud to be dairy and produce farmers.  She was raised to have strong work and religious ethics.  Clara loved to tell stories about her early years, helping to work the farm and care for livestock.  She was particularly proud of having been assessed to be the equivalent of “½ of a man” during the World War 2 Draft as the US Government sought to leave sufficient manpower in place to work the farms of America.  She also worked in a canning factory.  She was thrilled to have attended a Green Bay Packers Game when she was 15.  When she was 18, she moved to Detroit, Michigan, to join a friend, Beatrice (Schimek) Kohlbeck.  Clara worked as a nanny and later as a clerk.  Bea introduced Clara to her future husband, Carl Breisch, a World War 2 Army Air Corps veteran and Ford Motor Co. accountant.  They were married a year later and had two daughters.  Clara and Carl moved to a rural area outside of Detroit on two acres.  Clara grew a ½-acre garden for vegetables and fruit, to eat and to can for later use.  Her children, and husband, were encouraged to always try new foods and to never refuse a novel culinary experience, of which they enjoyed many.  After the family moved to Farmington, Michigan, Clara worked full-time in retail, meeting and serving customers in a florist shop, a gift shop, and for 15 years until retirement, in Scott Colburn’s Saddlery, a Detroit Metro Area institution that provided boots, saddles, tack, and apparel for real cowboys and cowgirls, and for those who wished that they were.  Her bright smile and cheerful nature were welcoming to all.

Clara and Carl moved to Carmel, Indiana, in 1990 to be near daughter Laurie.  Clara made many new friends among neighbors, fellow garage sale enthusiasts, and the community of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church.  Clara was characterized by her love of people.  She was gregarious and always active, rarely sitting still for very long.  Clara loved to go out for lunch with friends and host dinner parties.  Cooking and baking were dear to her and she specialized in pecan custard pie and chocolate cream cheese cupcakes.  She loved music from polkas to Big Band Swing to Operettas.  She loved to sing, especially church hymns.  Decorating her home for the holidays was always a joyous task assisted by family or friends and always highlighted by the mantel covered with angels.

Clara loved to travel and she and Carl enjoyed many vacations to sightsee, golf and to visit family around the country (Maryland, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Florida).  Walt Disney World was a favorite annual destination where she adored “everything Disney.”  Two years after Carl passed, Clara went on an Alaskan cruise and met a retired US Navy Reserve Captain and his family, leading to a friendship and an abundance of new travel adventures.  Trips included passages through the Panama Canal to destinations in California and nine more cruises to Alaska; Caribbean cruises; visits to New Orleans’ fabulous restaurants; trips to Canada for the Calgary Stampede in Alberta, and sightseeing in Quebec City, Quebec, and in Vancouver, British Columbia; and many visits to Arizona.  Clara even attended an Amherst College Homecoming game in Amherst, Massachusetts, and an Army-Navy game in Baltimore, Maryland.  She enjoyed many trips with other friends and family and visited Michigan, saw National Parks with her daughters, enjoyed an autumn color tour cruise in the Northeast, and, of course, made more visits to Walt Disney World.  She rode Expedition Everest in her 80’s.  Clara always spoke of how very fortunate she was.  She was extremely grateful for the companionship of her fellow travelers and she forever cherished their shared adventures.

Clara was preceded in death by her parents; by her beloved husband of almost 53 years, Carl; by two older sisters, Helena Gander and Verna Stedl; and by younger sister, Gertrude (Gertie) Jagodinsky.  Clara is survived by her daughters Nancy Breisch (Al Greene) and Laurie Tuttle (Dune Crane); by her younger sisters Gladys Mazanec and Margaret Kroening; and by her younger brother, Alvin (Joyce) Kreiman.  Clara also greatly enjoyed participating in the lives of the children of dear friends and neighbors.  Their children provided Clara with wonderful experiences beyond those available through grandcats and granddogs.

Gathering for a Memorial is not advisable at this time.  Please raise a toast to Clara and recall your fondest memory of time spent with her.  Donations in Clara’s memory may be made to ORBIS International Charity fighting avoidable blindness worldwide (orbis.org) or to another charity of your choice.  Clara’s family wishes to thank Dr. Theresa M. Krueger, MD, of Cornerstone Family Physicians for her mindful care of body and spirit; Dr. Raj K. Maturi, MD, of the Midwest Eye Institute, for prolonging Clara’s sight; Christina Welborn, RN and Director of the Woodland Terrace of Carmel’s Woodland Gardens, for her excellence in compassionate care and leadership; Pamela and Paula Harris of Concierge and Home Care Services, for their years of friendship; and Mitasha Owens, RN, of Paradigm Health Hospice and Stacey Carruthers of Extended Family Companions, both of whom are called to lovingly serve.  Clara would also have us recognize Chef Paul Dibner, of Woodland Terrace, whose grilled salmon was Clara’s favorite dinner, each and every night.

Clara had a rich life filled with so many great friendships and good times that any rough patches were smoothed over by joy and laughter.  Please join us in celebrating a life well-lived.