Lucy Klakring

After a long struggle with illness, Lucy Kernan Kaufman Klakring passed away peacefully on the night of January 6, 2015. She once was picked up by a tornado and carried across a field, unharmed. (Nobody believed her, but she swears it happened.) She once learned to sail the hard way, when her brother pushed her out onto a lake on a boat on her own. (She loved telling that story, especially when her brother was around.) She once came home from college to find that her parents had moved without telling her, across the street. (She loved telling that story, especially when her parents were around.) She once threw out a roommate from her apartment for the unforgivable mistake of making oatmeal. (She did not throw out her sons for doing the same thing – they made oatmeal all the time after hearing that story.) She once made the unforgivable mistake of serving coffee to Madeleine Albright. (The former Secretary of State always takes tea.) She once married a young law student named Glenn in a ceremony in Oxford. (The newspaper said she "wore a gown of candlelight satin, designed with an overskirt of illusion, appliquéd with medallions of French lace." Her groom probably said she was beautiful.) She once bore a son named Radford. Or maybe Glenn. (He didn't become a lawyer.) She once bore a son named Mike. Or maybe Brian. (He also didn't become a lawyer.) She took her sons to tramp about the Appalachian woods and streams around Laporte. (They learned about leeches the hard way.) She made sure her sons had the chance to mess around with boats every summer in Oxford. (They learned the joys of calloused feet.) She took her sons to see Halley's comet in the dark skies above Assateague. (They hope to see it the next time around, too.) She let her sons' friends stay the night, even when it stretched into a few days, a few weeks, or a few years. (And looked the other way when they snuck out for late night mis-adventures.) She twice nursed a parent through their last years. (Those experiences took a heavy toll on her.) She once flew to Central America to volunteer her time helping children in Guatemala City in severe poverty. (That was after her parents passed – in some sense it helped her heal.) She once had a stroke that left her paralyzed from the neck down. ("Is it time for me to go?" she asked her sons. "No, you haven't met your grandchildren yet," we said.) She once made a full recovery from a stroke, regaining her ability to walk, talk, and smile through long and patient effort. (She gave us ten more years after that, and she saw a grandson graduate from nursery school, and another grandson graduate from high school.) Lucy is survived by her brother Mike; her sister, Schuyler; her grandsons, Gavin and Andrew; and her sons, Brian and Glenn; and her sweet dog, Sam. A celebration of life will be held in late spring/early summer. Please check back for posting at a later date. www.fhnfuneralhome.com

Lucy Klakring

May 16, 1948 - January 7, 2015