Claire Meyer

Claire S. Meyer, aka Claire S. Kasprow, was born as Claire Elizabeth Speicher on April1,1928 in Hastings-on-the-Hudson, New York. She was the vivacious eldest sister of five siblings and spent most of her childhood in Ardsley, New York. She loved to ride horses and grew up in the shadow of the Great Depression and World War II. She supported the war both by being active in civilian victory programs and by dating the returning soldiers. She received her dietetic certificate from Hackensack College and shortly thereafter traveled with her good friend, Clara Bower, to Daytona Beach, where they worked as dietitians at Halifax Hospital. Claire married Albin Joseph Kasprow, owner of the Seaside Lounge on the corner of Main Street and A1A, and had two sons, Mike and Mark. She was active in church, playing piano for many years. She felt a special calling to work with girls and young women who needed strong female mentoring. She worked for years in the medical field, first with Dr. Joel McCall, M.D., and later with Dr Vinod Patel, M.D. She was known for her tenacity, determination and strong ethics in whatever she did. Claire carefully cared for her aging parents and after the death of her father, Claude Speicher, she provided years of loving care to her mother, Myrtle Speicher. Eventually, due to her own illness, she came to reside at the nursing home where her mother had lived, and came to be known there by all as “the Queen.” After 6 years of declining health, she passed away peacefully on April 9th, at high noon, surrounded by her loving sons. Her final words include one moment in which she grasped their arms, and with light in her eyes and a beatific smile said, “We made it.”

Claire is survived by siblings, Elinor Spacek, Claudia and Ken Killian, John and Ramona Speicher, and Marion and Gordon Brown, her sons Michael Kasprow and Mark and Susan Kasprow, her “adopted” children David and Debra McCall, her three grandchildren- Joy Kasprow, Alex Kasprow, and Sarah Kasprow, and adopted grandchildren- Elizabeth McCall and Maggie McCall, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, friends and coworkers whose lives she deeply touched. The family invites you to join them in celebrating Claire’s life 2:00 p.m., Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Volusia Memorial Funeral Home 4815 Clyde Morris Blvd. Port Orange, Fl. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.volusiamemorialfuneral.com.