Clarabelle (Danruther) Padgett

Clarabelle Padgett

Clarabelle (Danruther) Padgett was born in Brook, Indiana on October 6, 1930. She lived with her mother, Clara May (Heuser) Danruther, her father, William J. Danruther and her older sister May Louise (Hiestand) Danruther on Main Street.

Clarabelle grew up in Brook and attended Brook High School where she played drums in the band. She met Richard Alvin (“Sam”) Padgett in high school, they graduated in 1948 and were married in Brook on September 29, 1950.

Richard joined the Air Force and the couple lived in St. Louis, San Antonio and Trenton, NJ. Clarabelle worked as a secretary for a variety of companies during that time. After the Air Force, the couple moved back to Indiana where Richard attended Purdue University studying to become an electrical engineer. They had a daughter, Kerry Lou, born on November 25, 1956. After graduation, they moved to Lombard IL in 1961 and Richard began working at GTE Automatic Electric in Northlake, IL. Their second daughter, Jennifer Jay, was born on October 21, 1962. Clarabelle was able to stay home with their two daughters.

They decided to build a house on a vacant lot they bought from a neighbor and in 1968, moved into a new home also in Lombard, IL — living there for almost 6 decades.

Clarabelle’s daughter Jennifer and her husband Gregg adopted a baby boy from South Korea in 2001 - Christopher Scott Woods. He is Clarabelle’s only grandson. Chris is a software engineer and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Clarabelle was a very loving, generous, quiet, zen-like person. She enjoyed water - swimming, water skiing, the beach and the ocean. She enjoyed puzzles, games, and watching the Chicago Bears on TV, and lived until the age of 95.

There will be a private burial.

Gerts, Windler and Keller is honored to be entrusted with the care of Clarabell.