Clara Marie Walls Obituary

Sunrise: July 24, 1946  –  Sunset: January 21, 2021

Clara Marie Walls (nee Willis) was born on July 24, 1946 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was the fifth of six children born to the late Robert Willis and Lillian Russell.

Clara’s family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1950 and she received her formal education in the Cleveland Public School System.  Over the course of her career at Victoreen Instrument Company, Clara also completed several certifications to further enhance her skills in Inspection.

Clara confessed Christ as her Lord and Savior at an early age at Pine Grove Methodist Church in Tuskegee, Alabama. After moving to Cleveland, she became a member of Mount Herman Baptist Church. In 1978, after moving to Shaker Heights, Clara joined Lee-Seville Baptist Church where she truly enjoyed serving the Lord and grew in her spiritual journey. It was at Lee-Seville where her rock-solid faith became the foundation of everything she did.  As a God-fearing woman, Clara often referenced II Timothy 1:7 KJV “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” She served on several ministries, including the Usher Board, Deaconess Board, Head of the Missionary Society, participated in the Cleveland Sub-District, Ruth Circle Leader, assisted with Family Food Baskets, Church Beautification and regularly attended Bible Study. Additionally, Clara was passionate about educating others about Christ that led her to participate in AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed), a world-wide nonprofit ministry focused on providing Bible-based evangelism and discipleship solutions for youths and teens. It is important to mention that Clara loved her church family and they loved her in return. Many of her church members remember Clara’s sweet soul, generous spirit and loving nature. Clara was a faithful member of Lee-Seville Baptist Church for 32 years until her illness prevented her from attending any longer.

Clara’s first job was a waitress at Woolworth.  In 1966, she started her long-standing career at Victoreen Instrument Company, a manufacturer of x-ray dosimeter equipment, where she dedicated 38 years of service. She loved inspection and enjoyed learning the products and their function at the Inspection Level. Clara spent 36 years in the Quality Assurance Department where she worked as a Quality Assurance Calibrator for 25 years, responsible for calibrating and controlling the Measuring and Test Equipment (M&TE). While working at Victoreen, Clara was also the Shop Steward of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM-AW). After several years as Shop Steward, she was elected as Financial Secretary and Treasurer for the union, where she served in a part-time capacity for over 20 years. As a testament of her perseverance and strong work ethic, Clara regularly toted her adolescent girls to the Union Hall, where they were “voluntold” and taught to process membership dues cards, record ledger entries and organize her office files. Over the course of her career, Victoreen was purchased by Cardinal Health, which was subsequently purchased by Fluke Biomedical. In 2004, Clara retired from Fluke Biomedical and was excited to begin the next chapter of her life by spending more time with her husband, Matt, traveling down south to visit family, devoting more time serving the Lord and loving up on her family.

Clara and David married in 1967 and adopted her daughter, Jodi Lynne.  Also, from this union, two daughters were born, Lillian (Vonni) Davon and Dejeurnetta (Netta) Marie.  Clara was married to David for 19 years. In 1994, Clara married Matt and during their 15-year union they enjoyed spending time with each other, going fishing together and traveling to visit family and friends.

Family was an important cornerstone of Clara’s life. In a Spotlight Interview conducted by her employer in 2004, Clara was asked, “Who do you admire?” and proudly responded, “I admire my three beautiful daughters, whom I refer to as ‘Mom’s Angels.’ These are three very well educated and independent young ladies that I’ve watched grow into what they are today. I, like all parents, am very proud of my girls.” Throughout this same interview, Clara frequently boasted about her only grandson, Drew, whom she referred to as “the apple of her eye” and stated that “he truly brought a change into her life.”

 To Clara, family was not an important thing, it was everything. Clara and her siblings were raised with a very close bond that remained throughout the years. In Clara’s own words, growing up in her family was “noisy and large” as they “loved one another, fought with one another, and spent a lot of time with each other.” As adults, Clara and her siblings started many traditions, including bringing in the New Year’s holiday in her sisters, Mattie’s or Minnie’s, basements, enjoying Willis Family Reunions and visiting with family in Alabama and Georgia. Holidays were regularly celebrated amongst the siblings and they often did not need a reason to gather at one another’s home. Clara and her siblings regularly spent time together, enjoying delicious food, sharing hearty laughter, exchanging funny stories and testifying about the goodness of God. There was no shortage of love amongst Clara and her family, including how much she adored her nieces, nephews and friends of the family.

Clara was a die-hard Cleveland sports fan.  She faithfully rooted for the Browns, Cavs and Indians; proudly displaying her paraphernalia. Some of her other enjoyments in life included golfing, fishing, bowling, hosting house parties, playing cards (poker and bid whist), taking trips to the Amish Country and tricking her daughters into all-day shopping excursions.

Clara took pride in decorating her home, which was adorned with a plethora of plants, a wall commemorating family graduation and baby photos, a sparkling curio cabinet filled with countless trinkets regularly dusted and cleaned by her 3 daughters. Clara and her late husband, Mathew, took decorating to another level when it came to the holidays. Many will remember their outside Christmas lights that covered the entire house, homemade desserts and a home filled with legendary holiday music.

After an extended 10-year battle with vascular dementia, Clara was called home to be with the Lord on January 21, 2021 at 7:05 am.

Those preceding Clara in death include her husband, Mathew Walls, Jr.; two brothers, Lawrence Willis and William “Bookie” Willis and two sisters, Minnie Beverly and Mary “Midge” Presley.

Clara leaves to cherish her precious memories: her loving daughters, Jodi Lynne (Andrew), Lillian Davon and Dejeurnetta Marie; her sister, Mattie Lee (Bobby); grandson, Andrew DeShawn and a host of loving nieces, nephews, cousins and many other relatives and dear friends.