Clara Belle Bartholomew

Clara Belle Bartholomew was born on April 16, 1931 in Logan, Ohio, the daughter of Rudolph Henry and Agnes Lucina Mae (Heft) Rempel. She passed away December 5, 2025 in Gainesville, Florida.
Clara and her brother "Buzz" were raised during the Great Depression, with their father and mother running a laundry business to make ends meet. She and her future husband, Oscar "Bart" Bartholomew, Jr. grew up less than ½ mile from each other, but were only acquaintances until her senior year in high school. They dated for a short time and then married on Christmas Eve, 1949, 6 months after Clara graduated from high school. Bart, with help from his his father and father-in-law built a 2-story house with a basement in Logan where they lived and had 3 children: Richard, Jody Lyn and Thomas Alan. In 1959, they moved to Bushnell, Florida when Bart took a job as a linotype operator for the Sumter County Times, with Clara providing a loving home for the family. In the mid-1960's she began working in the Bushnell City Hall as a Fiscal Assistant. In 1968 Bart was hired by the University of Florida as Assistant Director of the Printing Division, the family moved to High Springs at the end of the year and he was named Director in 1970. Clara soon got a job in the accounting office of the UF Physical Plant and eventually ended up as an Administrative Assistant to the UF Director of Admissions. She retired in 1993 to take care of her ailing husband, who had a disabling stroke in 1977 and ultimately passed away in 1994. Clara was active in the church and in her neighborhood, and for several years as a widow volunteered at the elementary school. She will be remembered for her selflessness, concern and unwavering love for her family, neighbors and friends. Clara always put the needs of others ahead of her own and was generous with her time and means. She was a huge fan of the Florida Gators and in her later years especially loved watching their baseball and softball teams. In 2016 she sold the High Springs home where she had lived for 46 years and moved in with her son Richard and his wife Kathy in Ocala. During her final 6 months Clara lived in Alachua with Holly Long, the mother-in-law of her oldest grandson.
Clara grew up in the Lutheran Church, but after moving to Florida the family joined the Presbyterian Church, which she attended faithfully in Bushnell and High Springs for many years. After moving to Ocala, she began attending the
Anthony church of Christ and was baptized into Christ in October 2020 at the age of 89. After a lifetime as a believer, Clara died at peace, knowing she had tried her best to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
Clara is preceded in death by her husband Oscar "Bart" Bartholomew, Jr., brother Rudolph William "Buzz" Rempel, son Thomas Alan Bartholomew, daughter Jody Lyn Stidham and granddaughter Janice Clara Bartholomew. She is survived by her son Richard (Kathy) Bartholomew, daughter-in-law Catherine Macina, grandsons Chad (Leah) Stidham and Keith (Susan) Bartholomew, granddaughters Kelley Gentry, Katie (Michael) Shouvlin and Shari (Brent) Green, great-grandsons Michael "Tripp" Shouvlin, Thomas Shouvlin, Gavin Gentry, Beau Green and Barrett Green, and great-granddaughters Cambri Gentry, Elaina Bartholomew, Eva Bartholomew and Isla Stidham, plus many other relatives and friends.
There will be a graveside service for Clara at the Forest Meadows Cemetery, 4100 NW 39th Ave., Gainesville, FL at 11 am on Saturday, December 13. In lieu of flowers, Clara would like donations to be made to the Hospice organization of your choice.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Evans Carter Funeral Home 18724 High Springs Main Street High Springs, FL 32643..386-454-2444