Clara Elizabeth Gray
1909-2009

Our mother was Clara Elizabeth Gray. She was born on 11 Dec 1909 in Santa Clara, California, the youngest child of Francis Pinkney Gray and Bertha Thompson. Clara married our father William Klaisner in 1932 in Modesto, California. They had two children, Lowell and Laurel. Clara died in Modesto, California on 19 Aug 2009 at the age of 99.

Photograph Gallery

Marriage to William Klaisner, 1932

Wedding, June 12, 1932

Newspapers.com, Modesto News-Herald, 13 Jun 1932, p. 4 : downloaded 28 Apr 2016

Photographs

Newspaper Coverage

Clara’s Dress

Newspapers.com, Modesto News-Herald, 18 Jun 1932, p. 4 : downloaded 7 Jun 1920

Honeymoon Trip

Newspapers.com, Modesto News-Herald, 17 Jun 1932, p. 5 : downloaded 28 Apr 2016

Graduation from Teaching College, 1930

Family copy

First Grade Classroom, 1956

Family copy

Teaching Career

Teaching Credential

Family copy

Retirement Recognition, 1968

Family copy

In Her Later Years

Notes on the Gray Family

Interview in the Modesto Bee, 2004

Reflections

1991 Conversations with Clara Gray Klaisner and her son Lowell.

Newspapers.com, Modesto Bee, 20 Dec 2004, p. D1, D3 : downloaded 1 Nov 2020

The Story of Clara Whittaker and how Clara Gray got her name

Clara Whittaker was a family friend of Clara Gray’s mother Bertha Thompson Gray.

Oral History, 2004

Clara Gray Klaisner interview with her granddaughter Aleece

Click the Play button to hear the interview

Death in 2009

Newspapers.com, Modesto Bee, 21 Aug 2009, p. B8 : downloaded 3 Oct 2020