Clara Sieve

A Mass of Christian Burial for Clara Sieve, 100, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Lawrence. Burial will follow at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Valley Falls.
She died Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011.
After graduating from Valley Falls High School in 1929, Ms. Sieve provided hospice care for John and Lena Groff in the Kansas City area. She was recruited by a Benedictine priest, Father Egbert Hall, in 1938 to become a housekeeper and parish secretary for Immaculate Conception Church in Valley Falls. In 1938, she also began a 30-plus year affiliation with the priests and sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict based in Atchison. During this time, she was housekeeper, parish secretary and organized parish fundraising activities for Catholic churches staffed by the Benedictine priests in Valley Falls, Seneca, Atchison, Troy and Effingham before her retirement. In 1945, she was recognized as an Oblate of St. Benedict at Mount Saint Scholastica, and from 1946 to 1947 was assigned to assist Father Egbert Hall in missionary work in Sahuayo, Mexico.
Upon her retirement in 1977, Ms. Sieve moved to Babcock Place in Lawrence where she continued her life of caregiving to her mother, Mary, until her death at age 96 in 1979. She also provided care for her brother, Leo, who also moved to Babcock Place, until his passing in 1990. After leaving Babcock Place, she lived with Tillie Petesch in rural Douglas County after the death of her husband, Elmer. They moved to Lawrence and were active members of the Corpus Christi parish until their July 2010 move to Our Lady of Mercy Country Home in Liberty, Mo. Mrs. Sieve was also a member of the Lawrence Book Club and did volunteer work for the St. John’s Thrift Store in Lawrence.
Ms. Sieve had many hobbies, which included crocheting afghans, making quilts, and appliquéing quilts. She enjoyed cooking and baking. She also made thousands of rosaries, which were distributed worldwide, especially in Africa. She loved to travel and had been from Washington D.C. to Seattle, and from Florida to Alaska. In addition to her missionary work in Mexico, she also traveled to make a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia).
She is survived by a sister, Matilda Petesch; a brother, Lawrence Sieve; and 31 nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Gottfried and Mary (Herbers) Sieve; and brothers and sisters Elizabeth Sieve, Frank Sieve, Leo Sieve, Josephine Schroers, Albert Sieve. and Olivia Beaubien.
Friends may call from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary, with a rosary at 6:30 p.m.
The family suggests memorials to St. Benedict Abbey, sent in care of the mortuary, 120 W. 13th St., Lawrence, KS 66044.
Online condolences may be sent at warrenmcelwain.com.