Claire Forsyth Chamberlin

Claire was a longtime resident of Berwyn, PA. She was born on September 28, 1965, in Pittsburgh, PA, to her parents, Jim and Brenda Forsyth. She was born a year and a half after her older sister “Leelaw” (her pronunciation of Lisa), who called her Clairie. She graduated from the Agnes Irwin School in 1983 and earned multiple honors at graduation. She continued her education, graduating from Saint Joseph’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Claire went on to establish a career as a research biologist, working for Merck for over twelve years and earning a master’s degree in Biology from Villanova University during her tenure. While at Merck, she met and fell in love with Steve Chamberlin, and the two married in 1997. They were later blessed with two daughters, Helen and Laura, in 1999 and 2000, respectively. After taking time off from work to stay at home with her children and later working in multiple positions in their school district, Claire returned to Merck as a quality specialist in the vaccine manufacturing division.

Claire was unbelievably selfless, kind, humble, hardworking, and humorous. Claire’s favorite thing in the world was spending time with her family—she cherished every chance to create memories with them, ranging from playing board games like Trivial Pursuit and Farkle to taking trips together, especially to the beach and most notably to Italy, which was one of her dreams that she was able to live out. Every year, Claire enjoyed celebrating special occasions and holidays with her loved ones. Just to name a few of her labors of love, she meticulously and lovingly prepared for all family gatherings, cooked delicious Thanksgiving dinners, shopped for and wrapped dozens of Christmas presents and baked hundreds of pizzelles and Russian tea balls, and always ensured that everyone had a fantastic birthday with a cake (or pie) of their choosing that she baked herself. She took after her Italian mother and was an excellent cook, treating her family to countless delicious meals and teaching her daughters how to cook family recipes. Claire had a deep love for animals, especially her many pets over the years, all of whom she spoiled and treated as her furry babies. Claire was also an avid reader, consistently checking out a dozen books from the library at a time. It is incredibly fitting that she memorized her library card number, worked as a librarian, and loved visiting libraries locally and in other cities. Additionally, ever since she was a young girl, Claire has loved Snoopy. One of her favorite childhood possessions was a stuffed Snoopy that was gifted to her at ten years old while she was in the hospital for a broken femur, and she was continually brought joy by her collection of Snoopys that grew over the years as family and friends gifted them to her.

Claire is survived by her husband Steve, her daughters Helen and Laura, her parents Jim and Brenda, and her sister Lisa.

Services for Claire will be held on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at Alleva Funeral Home (1724 E Lancaster Ave, Paoli, PA 19301). A visitation will begin at 11:00 am, with a funeral service starting at 12:00pm , followed by a luncheon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Easttown Library Foundation at 720 First Avenue, Berwyn, PA 19312.