Clare Marie “Cuffie” Hustedde, née Lohman, age 83, born in Aviston, Illinois, entered eternal life on January 6, 2019, at Whitney Place Nursing Facility in Natick, Massachusetts.
Clare was born on July 27th, 1935 the daughter of Fred and Leona, née Vollet, Lohman.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Jerome “Jersey” Hustedde on February 18, 1998; her father-in-law and mother-in-law Edwin and Cecilia, née Sherman, Hustedde; brother Frederick H. Lohman, sisters Ruth Ann “Dolly” Warnecke, Mary Louise “Picky” Haynes, and Angela “Red” Richardson; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Father Ed Hustedde, Richard and Roselyn “Rosie” Hustedde, Cyril “Cyrie” Beckmann, Thomas Molitor, Joe Haynes, Francis Richardson, Melvin Kreiter, Cornelius “Buddy” Warnecke.
Surviving are her daughter Lynn (Olivier) de Weck; grandchildren Gabrielle and Christian de Weck all of Natick, Massachusetts; sister Virginia “Ginny” Kreiter of Aviston, Illinois and brother Terry (Cathy) Lohman of Trenton, Illinois; sisters-in-law Margaret “Marg” Beckmann of Breese and Mary Therese Molitor of O’Fallon, Illinois; and many nieces and nephews.
Clare grew up in Aviston, Illinois with her brothers and sisters and had a happy childhood. Her father, Fred, was the mayor of Aviston, and they lived right across the street from St. Francis Catholic Church. She attended Aviston High School and graduated in 1953, after which she worked for an insurance company in downtown St. Louis before working for many years at the Ben Gutman Trucking Service Company, also in St. Louis.
She and Jerome were married on January 29, 1955, at St. Francis church in Aviston, Illinois and they made their home in Breese, Illinois. Clare and Jerome loved spending time with their friends and family; boating and water skiing on the Mississippi River in Grafton, Illinois and later on Carlyle Lake, also in Illinois. Their only child, Lynn, was born on April 18, 1964, in Breese, Illinois. Clare was godmother to Shelley, née Beckmann, Nettemeyer and Lisa, née Warnecke, Schlarman.
For 19 years she worked as an Executive Administrative Assistant to the President of Kaskaskia Community College in Centralia, Illinois. She was dedicated to supporting faculty, students, staff and administrators in the development and continuous improvement of the college. She retired in November of 2000 to help take care of her daughter and grandchildren in Massachusetts. While living in Breese, Cuffie was a member of St. Dominic Catholic Church and an honorary member of HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Auxiliary.
Clare was known to all for her kindness, her beauty, her great sense of humor and the selfless way in which she made life for everybody around her better.
She was diagnosed in 2008 with Alzheimer’s disease and waged a fierce battle against the ravages of this disease. Her family will continue to work tirelessly to help find a treatment and a cure. We are still waiting on the first survivor of this disease. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund.
Clare moved to Massachusetts in November 2013 to be close to Lynn and her family and to receive care for her as she continued on her journey with Alzheimer’s. The family would like to thank the staff members at Wingate Residences Memory Unit in Needham, Massachusetts and at Whitney Place Nursing Facility in Natick, Massachusetts for the loving and compassionate care that was given to Clare and her family.