Claire June Grady

Claire June Grady, 86, died peacefully March 18, 2014, in Avon Lake, OH. The daughter of James Moran and Mary Kane Moran, of Plains, PA, her fondest childhood memory was playing piano for her father when he came home from the mines. A virtuoso pianist, Claire graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from College Misericordia. She performed with a young violinist and former classmate named Joseph Grady. They fell in love and together they built a marriage covering four children, five states and 58 years. In Kalamazoo, Claire played the organ at Mass, sang soprano in the choir and taught Catholic education for 22 years, eventually becoming Director of the Religious Education Program at St. Augustine Cathedral. She taught music in the public schools, bringing energy and innovation to classrooms at South and Oakwood Junior High. Claire was never afraid to show students her love for art and learning, and it inspired them to discover their own. In an era where music classes taught “Red River Valley” and “Do-re-mi,” Claire pounded out Cat Stevens and “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” finding music her students loved to illustrate the wonders of song. To Joe and her children, Claire was a joyful, positive force: inspiring and encouraging in every way. She used her gift of music to praise God and passed that gift on to her children. Those who knew Claire will remember her big, sweet smile, an encouraging hand and a conversation that always ended with you feeling better than when it began. She will never truly be gone, because she left us all so much. Claire is survived by her loving family: children Mary Claire and David Ashpole; Joseph Grady, Jr. and Jeanette Biermann; James and Patricia Grady; and Michael and Linda Grady; grandchildren Laura and Connor Ashpole, Megan Grady and Trisha Ekenberg; her sister, M. Phyllis Boss, nieces Beverly Boss, Patricia Clemons, Mollie Moran Marshall, Maureen Moran Robinson and nephews Charles, James and Mark Boss. Join us for a vigil, 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 28, at Redmond Funeral Home, 4100 S. Westnedge Ave., in Kalamazoo. A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 29, at St. Augustine Cathedral, 542 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo.