Claudia C. Waller

Claudia was born November 11, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan to the late Arthur D. Cronin and Elizabeth (McDermid) Cronin.

A natural caregiver, Claudia earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. While there, she met her husband of 58 years, John, and soon started a family in the University of Notre Dame’s Graduate Student Housing. The young couple and their two sons moved to Alexandria, Virginia to raise their growing family. Claudia actively supported social justice causes, shared her musical talents as a member of church folk group and choirs, and participated in many church-related organizations. As the family grew to include four boys, Claudia served on the Alexandria City School Board for twelve years and oversaw the installation of nurses in every system school. She was a member of the Northern Virginia Community College Board for nine years and served as the board’s chairperson. As the executive director for the Association of Children’s Residential Centers, she tirelessly advocated for society’s most vulnerable population while skillfully organizing the association’s national conferences. Claudia’s passion for public service led her to positions supporting state and local officials, to include roles as a legislative assistant for a State representative and as an aide on the City Mayor’s staff. Throughout her career, she remained extremely proud of her efforts to support students attending college by providing scholarships through the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria (SFA). She served on the SFA’s Board of Trustees and as the Board’s Chair. The Michael D. Waller Scholarship Fund, which awards two scholarships annually to deserving Alexandria students, was created in honor of her son who was lost too soon.

Claudia is survived by her husband, John, her three sons and their families. The families include Mark and Paula Waller of Mystic, Connecticut and Kathleen, Abigail and Devin; John and Kelly Waller of Chicago, Illinois with Michael, Brandon, Ian, and Beth; and Brian and Diana Waller of Alexandria, Virginia, with Addison, Maeve and Reece. Also survived by her sister, Mary Margaret (Cronin) McLaughlin and her husband, Bob of Parker, CO.

She was preceded in death by her son, Michael Waller and her brother, Dennis Cronin.

Services will be held at 10:30 am, Monday, March 1, 2021 at Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 625 111th Ave N, Naples, FL 34108.

Visitation will be held from 4:00-6:30 pm, Sunday, February 28, 2021 at Hodges Funeral Home at Naples Memorial Gardens, 525 111th Avenue N, Naples, Florida 34108.

Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to the Michael D. Waller T.C. Williams '86 Memorial Scholarship, a subset of the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria (SFA) at www.alexscholarshipfund.org.