Claireen Lavern Herting

Claireen L. (nee. Molzan) Herting., 92 of Park Ridge, IL was born September 7, 1929, in Chicago, IL, to the late Ernst and Louise (nee. Wagner) Molzan and passed away December 29, 2021. Claireen was the beloved wife of the late Dr. Robert L. Herting Sr.; loving mother of Dr. Robert (Nora) Herting Jr.; cherished grandmother of Erika, Bob III, and Nathan Herting; dear sister of the late Arthur (late Peg) Molzan; fond aunt of many nieces and nephews; and friend of many.

Claireen Herting attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, IL graduating with a B.S. in Accounting in 1950, and then studied and received her M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business before passing her CPA examination. While working full-time as an auditor in public accounting, she graduated top of her class, receiving her J.D. from the John Marshall Law School evening program. Claireen became the first woman hired as a full-time CPA at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where she worked for over 60 years, initially as an auditor, but later as a Director of Personal Financial Planning and Taxation, and then as a Manager of Personal Financial Planning and Federal Tax. While working at PricewaterhouseCoopers, she taught in the evening LLM Program of the John Marshall Law School as an Adjunct Professor of Personal Financial Planning for 15 years. After retiring from PricewaterhouseCoopers, she continued to work for almost 10 more years as President of her own consulting business, Specialized Tax Consulting, Ltd, doing tax and estate planning for private clients.

Not content to keep the knowledge and skills she obtained during her career and education to herself, Claireen began a life of public service for many different organizations. Claireen served on the Finance Committee of the Chicago Bar Association for about 20 years and on several of the taxation committees. Other activities of Claireen included: Past President of the Chicago Estate Planning Council; Great Lakes Regional Director of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy; Past Chair of Illinois Board of Examiners for CPAs; Vice Chair of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations; Treasurer of the Illinois CPA Society; as well as serving as Secretary, Treasurer, and Vice President of the John Marshall Board of Trustees. Claireen also dedicated her time to numerous philanthropic endeavors including service as the Vice President and longest-tenured Board member of Easterseals, Treasurer of the Free Arts of Illinois, member of the Museum of Science and Industry’s Gift Planning Advisory Committee, member of the Art Institute’s Planned Giving Committee, and Legacy Partner of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. For her work with these organizations, she received the John Marshall Distinguished Service Award, the Illinois CPA Society Public Service Award, and the Honorary Member Award as well as Chicago Estate Planning Council Austin Fleming Distinguished Service Award.

While studying at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Claireen met the love of her life, her loving husband, Robert Herting. They dated for five years and then got married. They were happily married for 66 years. Claireen was a devoted wife and avid supporter of her husband’s career. They enjoyed traveling and dancing together and going to the theatre with their friends. They spent each morning sitting in bed hugging and talking about their day and ended the day the same way. They loved each other immensely and took their marriage vows to heart especially when dad’s health was failing, mom cared for him like his own private nurse and he got the best care he could – she saw to it. They had a son, Robert Herting Jr. Claireen was a loving mother of Bob Jr and taught him to cook and how to manage his finances (or would bail him out if he made a mistake). She always joked that she cooked a lot of things BB (before Bob Jr), but then she ultimately made them with her son anyways. She always had a humorous story or anecdote to tell from her busy day at work. She was also the family organizer of family get-togethers and vacations. She made time to be a Cub Scout Den Leader for Bob Jr and his friends, and she was involved in the Bob Jr’s School PTA meetings. Claireen also loved doting on her three grandchildren – Erika, Bob III, and Nathan. She liked playing board games with them, spoiling them with candy or special dinners, and taking them with on vacations across the USA or overseas to other countries like England, France, Italy, and Germany. She also spent time reading with them and made a point to fly up for Grandparent’s Day at their school or even for graduations from elementary school. She loved her family deeply and you knew that because of the multiple hugs she gave and because of how much she worried about you. Claireen also enjoyed seeing and being out with friends. She was quite a social planner and enjoyed going to five different theater series with different friends and family. She also enjoyed a group of friends that called themselves the “Grandparent Club” and would go out to eat and socialize with them frequently. She loved talking to her friends and could be found on the phone many nights from 7 pm – 9 pm talking to family and friends, especially after her husband passed away. She attended St. Andrews Lutheran Church, usually on Saturday nights at the smaller service, and later in life via the internet. She made sure the family said our prayers at dinner and bedtime each night.

Visitation will be Friday, January 7, 2021, from 3 – 8 PM at Oehler Funeral Home, 2099 Miner Street, Des Plaines, IL. Funeral service will be on Saturday, January 8, 2021, at 11:00 AM at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 260 N Northwest Hwy, Park Ridge, IL, with a 10:00 am lie-in-state before the funeral at the church. A brief interment ceremony will follow immediately after the funeral at Bethania Cemetery in Justice, IL. Memorials may be made to St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 260 N Northwest Hwy, Park Ridge, IL 60068 or Easterseals.

Link to the livestream of the church funeral is below (click on the link):

https://boxcast.tv/view/claireen-herting-funeral-service-368656

Link to the bulletin of the order of the funeral service to follow along is below (click on the link):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wxxfhymrcf1uzpb/Claireen%20Herting%20Funeral%20Bulletin.docx?dl=0

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.OehlerFuneralHome.com for the Herting family.