DOWLING PARK, FL – Claudia McClaine of the Advent Christian Village, Dowling Park, Florida, passed into the presence of her Lord Jesus on 25 May 2017.
Claudia was born in Caribou, Maine, on 12 October, 1937, the second of six daughters of J.K. Blackstone and Bertha P. Blackstone. Following her graduation from Caribou High School in 1955, she enrolled in the Eastern Maine General Hospital School of Nursing, Bangor, Maine, where she graduated in September 1958 as a Registered Nurse (RN).
During her Registered Nurse training, she met her future husband, Dick McClaine, a USAF aircrew navigator stationed at Dow AFB, Bangor, Maine. Almost immediately after Claudia and Dick married in March 1959, they embarked upon a new Air Force assignment at Beale AFB, California. During the next five years, daughters Stephanie and Laurie were born. In 1969, while stationed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, son James was adopted, making for a family of five.
Claudia was a devoted Air Force wife and loving mother to her children, and as her children grew, her compassionate nature led her to seek employment, as an RN, in various capacities of public service, including “at risk” populations such as the state prison system and public health as well as private duty nursing. She was especially proud of her title as Certified Lactation Consultant, and utilized this skill to educate young mothers on early childhood health and nutrition. While serving as an RN at Indian River Memorial Hospital in Vero Beach, FL, Claudia completed coursework for her Bachelor’s Degree.
Claudia was an outspoken advocate for the mentally ill, and a consistent and tireless supporter of her local National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) affiliate. She documented her experiences raising a mentally ill child in a book which she self-published in 2009, titled “Damaged Goods.”
During the course of her married life, Claudia and her family resided in California, Nebraska, Colorado, Texas, Hawaii, and northern Japan as well as Eliot, Maine; Lenox, Massachusetts; Vero Beach, Florida; Bryson City, North Carolina; and Sebastian, Florida. By time Dick retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1974, both she and he had come into a renewed relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ which continued to blossom over the course of the following years. No matter where she resided, Claudia involved herself in church as well and community volunteer activities. In April of 2015, Claudia and her husband, Dick, moved to the Advent Christian Village, a Christian retirement community in northern Florida to live out their final years.
Claudia leaves behind her husband, Dick, of 58+ years as well as Surviving are her sisters, Norma Milton of Caribou, ME and Carol Parks of San Diego, CA. her sisters, Norma Milton of Caribou, ME and Carol Parks of San Diego, CA. Daughters Stephanie Delaney of Melbourne, Florida, and Laurie Croce of Dowling Park, Florida, son Kenny Borchers of Sebastian, Florida, and daughter Brenda Moore of Vero Beach, Florida, seven grandchildren: Ryan, Kyle, Kaitlin, Molly, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Rachel, and two great-grandchildren: Evalynne and Nora. She was predeceased by her parents, her sisters, Marjorie Shelton of Indiana, Marie Archibald of Ohio and Jean Nelson of Caribou, ME and son, James Richard McClaine.
Memorial gifts may be made to either the Vero Beach Alliance Church or the Indian River County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), both of which are located in Vero Beach, Florida. Additionally, Vitas Hospice of Melbourne, Florida, and Haven Hospice of Lake City, Florida, were also close to Claudia’s heart during the final period of her life. A “celebration of life” service will be announced at a later date.
