Clara, née Clara Stella Mayer, had a joyful spirit and gentle strength that made her a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister and a friend to many others. Born in Sudbury, Ont. on March 29, 1926, Clara was a citizen of both Canada and the United States. Clara was also, in the vernacular of her youth, a dish.
She married her first husband, James N. Linton, in 1945, and together with him had three children. Widowed young, she was by the late 1950s a single mother, working as an industrial diamond setter as well as in the retail industry to care for her young children. In 1962 she married Frank Voll, a loving husband and father who made her laugh. The two shared many adventures until his death in 1980. In 1999, she married for the third time, to Frederick Linton – her first husband’s youngest brother, who was nearly 10 years her junior. Clara and Fred were madly in love, and lived happily together until his death in 2010.
Clara was more than a beautiful face. She was fluent in English and French. She was an accomplished real estate agent with Weir-Manuel, Ranke in Rochester, Mich. (now Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel) and overcame a childhood of poverty. Clara saw the world, traveling to France and England, Hawaii and New York, and with her great love, Fred, throughout Canada. Clara was an expert host and baker who filled her house with the aroma of homemade French breads ahead of visits from her friends, family and especially her small army of grandchildren, delighting in throwing them summer slumber parties and letting them stay up late into the night. Clara was a master seamstress and artisan who took pride in sewing clothes and toys not only for her grandchildren, but also for church fundraisers and children living in poverty. She sewed quilts for wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital, in Bethesda, Md. She was a prolific letter-writer. She was a flirt. She was the first real estate agent to sell a home to a Black family in Rochester, Mich., a fact of which she was enormously proud. When she had a Black grandchild years later, she embraced her as well. Clara was for years a faithful member of the Paint Creek Methodist Church in Rochester, Michigan. Though she attended church regularly, she never proselytized her values, trying instead to live them. Clara is irreplaceable. She leaves behind a legacy of resilience, grace and love.
Clara is preceded in death by her parents, Percy and Rose Mayer; her son, James Voll and daughter-in-law, Pamela Voll; and her five siblings: Elger, Venance, Herman, Gilbert and her sister Yvette, who was her best friend.
She is survived by her daughters, Colette Beens and Patricia Voll Gay, and her son-in-law, Alvin Gay; and seven grandchildren: Jason Beens, Jennifer Plummer, Jessica Beens; Nicole, Danny and Whitney Voll; and Mara Gay. Clara is also survived by three great-grandchildren and counting: Samantha and Sarah Plummer and Aurora Voll.
A memorial service for Clara will be held Saturday, June 22, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Pixley Funeral Home, 322 W. University Dr., Rochester, Michigan 48307.
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