 SCHLESIER, CLAIRE age 85, of Corrales, New Mexico, died on October 26, 2013 surrounded by her family. She was born on May 9, 1928 in Duesseldorf, Germany. Her parents were Christine Groesgen and Wilhelm Meuter. She had one brother, Karl Andreas, whom she always remembered lovingly. Claire attended a business school where she learned English, shorthand, and other skills. After the war, in June of 1945, British officials asked her to work at the Headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine, in Duesseldorf. She worked for the British Army until 1951. Thereafter she worked in various administrative positions until her immigration to the U.S. in 1962. Claire met her husband, Karl Heinz Schlesier, in 1948. He was a Dispatch Clerk in the REO (Regional Economic Office) of the British Army in Duesseldorf. In the same office he first set eyes on Claire. They were married on July 24, 1958. In 1962, with their first daughter, Sibylle, the couple immigrated to Wichita, Kansas, where Karl joined the faculty of the Anthropology Department at Wichita State University. In 1963 the couple's second daughter, Sedna, was born. Claire enjoyed all the things that mean family and home. She was a true German-American; she passed the German language and culture on to her children and grandchildren. She is survived by her husband, her daughters, her grandchildren, Dorian and Ariane, and her former son-in-law Gerhard. A funeral mass for family will be celebrated October 31st at 10:00 a.m. at San Ysidro Catholic Church. Internment will follow at San Ysidro Cemetery, Corrales, New Mexico. Thank you to all of you, near and far, who have shown such heartfelt support over the last days. A special thank you to the "old" friends in Germany: Horst and Ingrid Ellermeier, Wolfgang and Gerdi Schumann, Frank and Renate Micha, and Ferdi and Margret Bleines. And a special thank you to friends here: Mike and Barbara Hayes, The Red Hat Family, Paul Puckett, and Linda Davis Stevens and Family. We will miss you, our "Klaerchen" !
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