Clara Violet (Parmenter) Hentzen |
| Posted 2020-01-07 by mhenderson |
| Published in Today's News-Herald on Jan. 2, 2020 - Lake Havasu City, Arizona - (personal article, page 5) Clara Violet Hentzen, 92, passed away Friday, December 20th, 2019 at the Havasu Nursing Center with family by her side. Originally from Monett, Missouri, Clara was born July 8th, 1927 to Robert and Violet Parmenter and spent her early years growing up with her beloved siblings Mary, Chester, Clo, and Earl. At the age of 16 Clara and her family moved to Los Angeles, California seeking treatment for her father’s ultimately terminal Tuberculosis. Clara was very close to her veteran father and is even said to have broken him out of a subpar sanitarium to ensure he received the best care available. In 1945, Clara met the love of her life, Clyde (Bud) Hentzen, a young Marine returning from participating in the liberation of Guam and capture of Iwo Jima. Ironically, they were both raised just a few counties apart and Bud’s mother had also succumbed to tuberculosis. They would be married in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 21, 1946 and would remain inseparable for the next 66 years. Taking after her father, Clara was well known for her stoic yet kind disposition. She was never too proud to roll up her sleeves and help out in any way she could. Clara’s work ethic would see her rise from dish washer to Head Pastry Cook for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). As a side note, Clara’s Coffee Cake was so good that the recipe wasn’t quite a national secret but was closely guarded within the LAUSD and the family. Clara completed a full career with the LAUSD despite a 1953 car wreck that broke her pelvis and knocked out her front teeth, as well as overcoming Valley Fever and associated lung surgery (partial lobectomy) in 1974. Make no mistake, this write up does little to capture Clara’s strength and resilience. She didn’t tell others how to live, but rather showed them through her example and even at the pinnacle of her career could be found helping the dish washers. After retiring in 1979, Clara and Bud relocated their home to Lake Havasu City and spent the next 20 years exploring the United States and Canada by Motor Home. Scheduling their trips around the weather, they rarely missed major family events or holidays. Not all of Clara’s retirement was filled with joy, she lost Bud in 2013, her son Clyde in 2015 and outlived the majority of her closest friends and all but one of her siblings (Clo – 88). Today, Clara’s legacy continues, and one doesn’t have to look any further than her family to see the great contributions she made. She is survived by two of her three amazing children that followed her example of selfless service to others. Her son Clyde became a Sergeant with the La Paz County Sherriff’s Department, her daughter Mary Lea became a Registered Nurse in Placerville, California, and her daughter Virginia Lea became a Californian State Credentialed School Teacher. Her sterling example also wasn’t lost on her seven grandchildren (Julie, Wendy, Tammy, Brenda, Kelly, Robert and Kristy) who strive to emulate her to this day. While it is unfortunate that Clara’s 16 great grandchildren will not have the opportunity to know her as adults, there is little doubt they grasp the significance of their loss and also hold their heads a little higher knowing that they are the rightful heirs of her legacy. Memorial Services: To Be Announced |
Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.
Questions About This Project?