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CLAESON, Adele Lorin After a brief illness, Adele Lorin Claeson, 60, of Grapevine, Texas passed away Wednesday, August 23, 2017, at Baylor Medical Center in Grapevine. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, September 8, 2017, at The Marq in Southlake, Texas. Adele is survived by her husband Craig Hopkins, their daughters Amanda and Emily, and her siblings Linda Cox and Doug Claeson. Adele was born on September 2, 1956, in St. Louis, Missouri to Wilma and Kenneth Claeson. Less than a year later, the Claeson family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1968, when Adele was twelve, her mother Wilma passed away. A year later, Kenneth remarried to Jackie Yakey and Adele gained three step-siblings; Debbie, "Ace" (Wallace), and Stephanie. Adele is survived by all three step-siblings. Adele attended Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis where she was a cheerleader and Junior Prom Queen. Adele was a talented artist who loved to sketch and paint, activities she pursued into her early forties. She also left more than one volume of poetry, written mostly in her teens and early twenties. In mid-1977 Adele met (Alan) Craig Hopkins. The two began dating later that year, and living together in mid-1978, the same year Adele received her BA in Special Education from Indiana University in Bloomington. They married on December 23, 1981 and were together until Adele's passing. In 1978, Adele's father Kenneth died at age 59. From 1978 to 1985 Adele and Craig moved from Indiana to Ohio, to Texas, to California, back to Indiana, to Florida, and back to Texas where they remained. Adele worked mainly for T.G.I. Friday's as a waitress and bartender, then as a store controller and subsequently as a manager of a region of store controllers, as an operations analyst, and finally as a manager trainer at Friday's corporate headquarters in Dallas. Adele's last day at Friday's was less than 48 hours before Amanda Christine Hopkins was born on July 23, 1989. Adele then entered, with gusto, into her new career as mother and volunteer extraordinaire. In November 1991 Adele and Craig moved from Dallas to a larger, and final, house in Grapevine, Texas. On April 21, 1992, Emily Michelle Hopkins was born. Adele's friendships with Amanda and Emily were profound. Adele would speak with Amanda once or twice daily. Even while Emily was traveling the world, she and Adele would text or FaceTime almost daily. Adele spent many years volunteering, both in her daughters' schools and in her community. Adele was the first President of the Winding Creek Neighborhood Association. When the children were in elementary school Adele volunteered as a story reader and as an art docent. When Amanda was in second grade Adele volunteered to organize and build an in-school "bat cave" through which students could crawl to witness the cave ecosystem; this eventually became known as "Claeson Cave." Adele played an active part in coaching during Emily's volleyball career and was an enthusiastic volunteer when Amanda was in theater. Adele also chaired Southlake Carroll's Project Graduation from 2007 to 2011. In 1995, Adele began a ten-year career as a volunteer with Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination, programs that taught student creative problem-solving. Adele coached her daughters' respective teams, served as an event judge, and eventually was regional program coordinator. In 2014 Adele professionalized her love for gardening by attaining the Master Gardener certification via the Tarrant County Master Gardener Association. That year she was "Intern of the Year" and began working as an independent landscape design consultant. In subsequent years Adele would also shepherd other interns through the process of becoming Master Gardeners. Adele's love for gardening is most evident in the landscape surrounding her home in Grapevine. Adele did every bit of the design and most of the manual labor involved. Her yard has been the subject of more than one area tour of special home landscapes. Adele truly led a full and joyful life, bringing beauty, creativity, and compassion to those around her. She will be remembered fondly by family and friends. |
