Clara King

Our beloved mother quietly passed from this vail of tears just a bit past midnight on the morning of July 28, 2014 and into our Heavenly Father’s care.
Clara was born in the covenant February 10, 1915 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Frederick O. Blechert, Sr. and Marie Margrethe Zimmermann. Born into a family of ten children, Clara was the sixth of eight sisters and one brother and the last survivor of her family. Clara was preceded in death by her husband, George J. King, and her youngest, daughter, Terry Ann. She is survived by her children George F. King, Sr. of Suquamish, Washington, Stephen F. King of Salt Lake City, Utah and her two daughters, Marla J. Moyer/Brad of Los Angeles, California and Susan Irene Dowdle/Patrick of Bountiful, Utah.
Clara has lived in several cities throughout her life including the gorgeous South Bay of Los Angeles, California, Detroit, Michigan, and Rose Park, Utah. It was in 1950 that Clara, along with her husband chose to settle down with their family in Redondo Beach, California, calling it home for the next 55 years. As she nurtured 5 children, her husband worked for McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach as an electrical engineer. She returned to Utah in 2005 living out the remainder of her beautifully long, long life in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah.
Highlights of her life included acting in high school performances, dancing to big band music, and performing gymnastics. During WWII Clara met and married her “United States Navy Poster Boy” on June 1, 1940 in Detroit, Michigan.
Clara and George later made a home with 2 children in tow in the Los Angeles suburb of Westchester, California. In order to help her husband with the financial demands of a growing family, Clara opted to work for Doke Aircraft in Santa Monica, while George was away serving in the United States Navy as Chief Warrant and Communications on the USS Lexington. She found much satisfaction as a laborer drilling rivets in to the wing flaps of WWII fight planes. Little did she know, she would later become one of thousands of women quite famously dubbed “Rosie the Riveter” during the tumultuous years of WWII. As the war was ending, the previous and mostly “all male” labor force returned to their pre-war employment positions as the women, including Clara, returned to hearth and home. Clara found much satisfaction serving as a loving wife and mother. She was so good at it in fact; she was also able to pursue a few outside interests while her young children attended school during the day. I especially enjoyed her enthusiasm when she would share with us the many bowling league trophies and much later, her fabulous winnings received as a result of intense Bingo playing.
Clara will be laid to rest following a brief graveside ceremony at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Cemetery, 3401 South Highland Drive, SLC at 2:00 p.m., Friday, August 1, 2014 following a brief family/friends viewing at 1:00 p.m. at the cemetery chapel.
Flowers/cards can be sent to: Clara Blechert King, c/o Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful, Utah 84010.