Claire Sozio Cortese

Claire Sozio Cortese, 83, passed away on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, due to kidney disease and congestive heart failure. She was born February 27, 1936, in Youngstown, OH, where she lived most of her life. She moved to her current home in Tallahassee, FL, in 2005.

She grew up in The Hollow in Youngstown and graduated from Rayen High School. After high school, she attended Youngstown State University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. It was at YSU that she met her husband, Joseph D. Cortese (of Niles, OH), through a mutual friend. They married on April 30, 1960, in Youngstown, OH.

Claire loved to travel (especially to Walt Disney World in Florida), crochet, watch crime dramas (Murder She Wrote was a favorite), and do crossword puzzles. But what she loved most was being with family and friends. She was fiercely protective of those she loved and helped raise her two grandchildren until each was three. Never one to shy away from giving her honest opinion, her family joked that her biography should be titled, “Two Cents? I’ll Give You Three!”

Claire was called to teaching from an early age. She excelled at piano and began her career as a teen teaching kids how to play. From there she went on to teach elementary school children at St. Columba School, college students in the Secretarial Department at Youngstown State University (where she also served as the Advisor to Tau Kappa Nu, the Secretarial School sorority), business students at ITT School of Business and Professional Drafting, and high school at Warren J.F.K. High School. She transitioned from typing to computer classes during her tenure as a teacher and excelled in her knowledge of computer software and skills.

An active supporter of the theatre, Claire worked as a stage manager, light board operator, and prop master for multiple shows at the Youngstown Playhouse and Oakland Center for the Arts, and even performed in one show at the Playhouse. Her meticulous nature made her an exceptionally good stage manager, and she really loved working in the arts.

Claire is preceded in death by her parents, Julia (Centrello) and Frank Sozio; sister-in-laws Rose (Paul) Davis and Mary Louise (Ed) Stulock. She leaves behind her husband, Joseph D. Cortese of Tallahassee, FL; daughter Juliann Cortese (John Campana), of Tallahassee, FL; grandchildren Joelie and Jace Campana of Tallahassee, FL; sister Noreen Sozio (Hal Matthews) of Denver, CO; niece Christina Sozio Blanch of Denver, CO; nephews Daniel (Cheryl) Clark, Samuel (Donna) Davis, Paul Davis, James Joseph Davis, and Eddie Stulock; niece, Mary (Jim) Hart (deceased); and many great nieces and nephews.

Services will be held at 12:00 pm on Saturday, April 6, 2019, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Tallahassee, FL, followed by a short reception. Interment will be at Crown Hill Burial Park in Vienna, OH, at a later date.

Those wishing to honor Claire may consider having a mass said for her at their local church or making a donation to their favorite charity in her name.