Clara Rebecca Ingle

1936 - 2025

Clara Rebecca Ingle

May 12, 1936 - December 25, 2025

Friends called her Becky and she was Kaki to her two grandchildren, Daniel Martin Eppley and Clara Ingle Troltenier. Becky was married for 67 years to her Bessemer High School sweetheart, H. Larry Ingle, retired American History professor at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Born at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, May 12, 1936, she lived in Ghana and in England but spent most of her life in Chattanooga.

Becky was a pillar of support in many diverse communities, from her Quaker circle to the New York City drag scene. She made people feel loved. Becky nourished people spiritually with her quiet ministering and literally with her delicious cooking. She was the actual mother of two, Jon Ingle and Jaan Ingle Troltenier, and very proud of the accomplishments of both. However, she also mothered many unrelated to her, always watching out for ways she could help complete strangers, caring for the sick and disheartened, supporting friends and strangers alike, especially at her beloved Quaker meeting here in Chattanooga. A longtime member of the Quaker faith, she embodied the principle of deep concern for others whether they were known personally to her or not. Her Meeting recently honored her and her husband with a certificate of appreciation.

Becky did not just work as a nurse in a hospital. She also nursed family members. Both grandchildren were born very prematurely and she assisted at both births, one in Louisiana and the other in Germany, which meant flying overseas alone and dealing with a language she did not speak. She tirelessly shared her medical skills with other family members who were ailing and sat with many friends in doctors' offices and hospitals.

Becky loved music from traditional gospel to chorale music to Motown. She was a member of Scenic City Chorale for decades. When with her son in his drag persona as Lady Bunny, she would refer to herself as the Queen Mother. She threatened to storm the stage at his performances with her tambourine to show everyone who the real talent in the family was.

Becky earned an Associate of Arts degree from Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C. She graduated from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Charlotte, N.C., and worked as a registered nurse first at Wesley Long Hospital in Greensboro, N.C., and then at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga. After her nursing career, she became a social worker with Family and Children's Services in Chattanooga and served as a nursing home ombudsman. She was honored with the Southeast Tennessee Social Worker of the Year award.

Memorial verse:

I float above my worry, lifted aloft by the Friendly hands that hold me in the Light. (Words written by Becky's sister-in law, Cynthia Ingle.)