Clare L. Keep

CLARE KEEP Clare Louise Porter Ames Hall Keep, of West Andover, died November 28, 2011 after a brief illness at Ashtabula County Medical Center after living a full and happy life. Clare was born at home on May 8, 1919, in Kingsville OH, daughter of Gertrude (Bailey) and Harry S. Porter. She was the sole survivor of 5 children; the siblings who preceded her in death included Helen Heath of Pompano Beach FL, Richard and Sidney Porter of Kingsville who died in infancy, and Philip Porter of Palm Harbor FL. She was the widow of Lewis D. Ames (died 1965) the father of her children Mrs. Marcia R. (and John) Hulburt of West Andover and Mrs. Nora L. (and William) Villella also of West Andover, and later married Harry Hall (died 1972) of Erie PA, and later married Haskell H. Keep (died 1990) of Dorset OH. She is survived by her own two children and 3 step-children Janice and Robert Hall, and Jim Keep. Two of her step-children, Beverly and Ralph Keep, preceded her in death; Clare had 28 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Clare had recently moved into Silver Sands 2 Community Living of Ashtabula last April where she made wonderful friends of the residents and staff. Clare attended Andover High School and excelled at playing basketball in the position of guard. She also played French horn and the bassoon in the Andover High School Band. During that time, Clare practiced elocution and was awarded first place in her declamation contests all four years of High School. Clare's lifelong profession was cosmetology. She practiced her trade for nearly 45 years. At first Clare worked for others, but then at age 23, she purchased the business of Laura Getman and owned the shop on the Andover Square 1942-1950 and a second shop in her home 1950-1982. She attended the Andover United Methodist Church since she was a toddler and was a member there for nearly 80 years. And in addition, she also visited Cherry Valley Methodist Church and Bethel Bible Church of Jefferson in her later years. She was a long time member of the West Andover Mystery Club, a former Eastern Star for 49 years, and a member of the Westford, PA Flower Club for several years. She and husband Lewis purchased their nearly 200 year old home on 40 acres in West Andover in 1939. Not having running water, electricity, or indoor plumbing made remodeling and decorating the old house together very rewarding. Her many interests included collecting and repairing antique furniture, quilts, and dolls. She enjoyed camping with her family, swimming and dancing, traveling, and collecting rocks and fossils with which she had made into a large fireplace. She kept a ‘Precious Book' with poems, stories, and scriptures which she added to over her lifetime. She visited elderly friends, family, and strangers at nursing homes in Erie, Ashtabula, and Andover to give them love and attention. She loved to cook, sew, tend her flower beds, enjoyed nature and tried her hand at oil and tole painting. Most recently she had been writing the story of her life which she was hoping to someday publish. But her most favorite hobby was mowing 3 acres of her property on her John Deere tractor until well into her 80's. Her moments of fame, though very brief, included, at age 11, saving the life of little Jean Phillips when Phillips skipped backwards into an open manhole on the way to school. Clare lay down on the pavement and reached into the freezing water to pull the little girl to safety and then gave Phillips her own coat to stay warm until they could find help, after which she was given a commendation by N.G. Richardson in the Andover Citizen newspaper. Clare climbed the old Andover Water Tower in 1927 at the age of 8 with her brother Philip. Later, while attempting to climb and inspect a newly built tree house, Clare's brother tried to hoist her up the tree but instead she became dangled in midair by a rope at her waist (over a tree branch) balanced by her brother hanging by his waist on the other side until their shrieks of terror brought the neighbors with ladders to cut them down; and, to her credit, she assisted her kitty cat in delivering a total of 32 kittens. The most precious things that happened to her were the privilege of having an angel mother Gertrude and of knowing that her Lord and Savior paid the price for her sins and the sins of the whole world. She also had the contentment of knowing her children and family and friends knew that she loved them very much. A funeral service will be held on Friday, December 2, 2011 at 12:00 Noon at Baumgardner Funeral & Cremation Service, 134 Prospect St., Andover, Ohio, with Rev. Vernon Palo officiating. Burial will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery, Andover. Calling hours will be on Thursday, December 1st from 5 to 8 PM at the funeral home and also on Friday from 11 AM until the time of services. A guestbook is available at www.baumgardnerfuneralhome.com

Service Information

Cemetery

Maple Grove Cemetery

Andover OH

Visitation

Thursday, December 1 2011
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Baumgardner Funeral & Cremation Service of Andover
134 Prospect Street P.O. Box 1450
Andover OH 44003

Visitation

Friday, December 2 2011
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Baumgardner Funeral & Cremation Service of Andover
134 Prospect Street P.O. Box 1450
Andover OH 44003

Service

Friday, December 2 2011
12:00 PM

Baumgardner Funeral & Cremation Service of Andover
134 Prospect Street P.O. Box 1450
Andover OH 44003