Ruth Ann Clapper

Clapper, Ruth Ann
passed away on January 31, 2011. Ruth Ann Clapper became an angel on Monday, January 31, 2011 at The Beatitudes Health Care Center in Phoenix, Arizona. She was 83 years old. Ruth Ann was a beautiful human being: a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, aunt, mother, and friend, as well as an avid reader, bridge partner, and traveler. Born Ruth Ann Welch, in Friedens, Pennsylvania, on July 16, 1927 to Helen (Mauk) Welch and John Jacobs Welch, from early on she was nicknamed "Pooch", for her friendly and loyal disposition. She joins her oldest brother, Joel Jacobs Welch III of Allen, Texas and sister Sue Kendall of Monroeville, Pennsylvania. She is survived by her brother, Dr. William Welch of Corpus Christi, Texas. She rejoins at last her husband of twenty-three years and everlasting love, Daniel Graydon Clapper Jr., who passed away in 1972. As, newlyweds, she and "Graydon" left Amish country where their families had lived for generations, and, with a pioneer spirit and a jeepster, they headed West. They enjoyed living and raising their children in Cedar Crest, New Mexico; Phoenix, Arizona and Salt Lake City, Utah before settling in the San Francisco Bay Area for thirty-one years. Ruth Ann enjoyed her work and co-workers at Lockheed Martin where she was a Medical Claims Administrator for 15 years. She also spent many happy years working, with two of her daughters, for Donald C. Fink, M.D. (team physician for the Oakland Raiders) in Castro Valley, California. After retiring to Arizona where she had raised her young family, Ruth Ann enjoyed time with friends, children, and grandchildren, traveling to Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean, Japan, and Italy. She is loved and survived by her four children; Daniel Graydon Clapper III (Makiko Morimoto Clapper) of Tokyo, Japan; Barbara Joyce Rice of Phoenix, Arizona; Victoria Ann Williams of Farmington, New Mexico; and Patricia Suzanne Fogerty-Regalado (Roy Regalado) of Phoenix, Arizona. She will be dearly missed by her 7 grandchildren, who knew her as "Buddy": Daniel Sullivan and Sean Patrick Rice, Cory L. and Aaron Ross Williams, Ashley Suzanne and Nicole Elizabeth Fogerty, and Jenna Regalado. Her constant canine companion over the last nine years, Brandy, will also miss her dearly. At Ruth Ann's request, there will be no formal service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution in Ruth Ann Clapper's name be made to Hospice of the Valley; at www.hov.org or The Beatitudes Campus at www.beatitudescampus.org
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