A beloved daughter, wife and mother, grandmother and great grandmother, enthusiastic sales clerk, and avid bridge player, Claire Helen Dettmar Willson of Millville passed away on July 13, 2013. She was born September Thirteenth, Nineteen Twenty Something, and was known for going out of her way to avoid revealing her age if at all possible.
To know Mrs. Willson was to understand that she was the beloved and devoted daughter of John and Clara Dettmar, who predeceased her, as did her sister Marilyn Moffett Thompson. She drew confidence from her parents' love and was until their deaths deeply devoted to their well-being.
Married for more than 58 years to David C. Willson, who predeceased her, Mrs. Willson was the quiet but strong partner of her more outspoken husband Dave. He could fill a room, his personality was so large, but he always recognized and admired her for being the stronger, the more determined of the two of them. He said often that the happiest day of his life was the day he married his wife; that the best party he ever went to was his own wedding reception.
Mrs. Willson is survived by her four children and their spouses: Peters D. Willson of Millville, Bruce C. Willson and wife Ann of Dorothy, John A. Willson and wife Dorothy of Millville, and Maryann Willson and husband Jeff Coy of Moretown, VT, as well as six grandchildren: Karen Daigle and husband Andre, Robert Lewis, Grahame Heavener, Collins Heavener, Brianne Willson, and Bryan Willson, and one great grandchild Landon Daigle.
During her children's childhoods and adolescences, Mrs. Willson was a full-time mother and homemaker, having left her career as a corporate secretary in Rhode Island after the birth of her first child. She said the secret to raising a family was realizing she did not have four children; she had four "only" children, that made all the difference.
When her youngest children were independent, she went back to work as a sales clerk first for Dover Dress Shop and later Wheaton Village Gift Shop in Millville, positions that she enjoyed and approached enthusiastically, not only to sell merchandise but also to meet and learn about her customers, who so often were her friends.
Mrs. Willson was an avid bridge player, having been a member of several bridge clubs in Millville, some of them since the early 1960s when she and her family moved to Millville from Rhode Island. It would be hard to say which she loved more-the challenge of the game or her card playing "sisters" as she called her bridge friends.
A private burial in Cumberland County Veterans Cemetery will be at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in the name of Mrs. Willson to either Inspira HospiceCare, PO Box 160, Bridgeton, NJ 08302 or a local women's shelter.
Arrangements are under the direction of Christy Funeral Home, Millville.
Memories and expressions of sympathy for Claire Willson may be shared on the Obituary Tribute Wall at:Christyfuneralservice.com.