Clare Kepple

Clare Caroline Agnes Kepple was born in Glasgow, Scotland to Jessie and Charles Kepple on June 24, 1950, and was raised in the Lutheran faith. She joined older siblings Frieda and Gerard, and later they were joined by brothers Bruce and Paul. Her mother emigrated to the U.S. after her husband passed, and Clare was raised by her mother Jessie and stepfather Angelo in Illinois, and the family welcomed another sibling, Joseph

Clare graduated from high school and later went on to take additional classes while working as a legal secretary.

Clare had three daughters, Caroline, Dawn, and Valerie, and when they were young, she enjoyed sewing them clothes, including matching outfits, life-size dolls, and at least a few Halloween costumes. Clare enjoyed baking bread and cookies, and tea was a regular fixture in the home. She passed on Scottish history and symbolism to her daughters: the story of the thistle’s importance to Scotland, the poetry of Robert Burns, bagpipe music, amethyst, the stag, heather, lavender, shortbread cookies, and dressed her daughters in tartan kilts when they were young. She even taught them about haggis, but thankfully never served any.

Clare adopted dogs that others had rejected because they had a medical condition, had grown older, or were too nervous to be suitable for others. She doted on them and they were fortunate to have her.

After the colder climes of Illinois and Wisconsin, Clare moved to the Phoenix area where she enjoyed the desert landscape and growing native plants in her yard for many years before returning to Wisconsin in 2023 to be close to her daughter Valerie.

Clare passed away on January 3, 2025, while listening to bagpipe music at Agrace where she was in hospice after a brief illness. She had the comfort of many loved ones visiting her in the days before her passing as well as the comfort of scripture. She leaves behind her sister Frieda (Merrill) Heim, brother Paul Kepple, sister-in-law Rita (Gerard) Kepple, brother Joseph (Jill) Urso, daughters Caroline, Dawn, and Valerie, nieces Julie, Heather, and Sheila, grandchildren Alyson, Max, Ian, and Fiora, and other family and loved ones. She joins her parents, siblings Gerard and Bruce, nephew Gerard, other loved family members, and beloved pets in heaven.