Claire Slead

Claire Marie Ann (Lemire) Slead, a more than 20-year resident of Hot Springs, Mont., was born on Sept. 30, 1926, in Holyoke, Mass. She passed away at age 92 on June 30, 2018, at the Riverside Health and Rehabilitation facility in Missoula, Mont.

Claire was the seventh of eight children born to Joseph T. and Justine (Brisson) Lemire. Joseph was born in Manchester, N.H., and Justine in Weedon, Quebec, Canada. Six siblings preceded her in death and she has one surviving sister, Sister Rita A. Lemire, HSC, who resides in Spokane, Wash.

She graduated high school from St. Anne’s Academy in Marlborough, Mass., run by the Sisters of St. Anne. She then attended their Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass., where she prepared herself for a career in teaching as well as earning a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. After teaching for a few years, she became a practicing registered nurse in Massachusetts, and was also a hospital nurse for several years in Florida.

During college, Claire professed vows to become a Sister in the St. Anne’s community, but after some time as a Catholic nun, discerned that religious life was not for her so she left the order. A first marriage in 1969 ended with an annulment, and on July 24, 1999, she married George Edgar Slead in Hot Springs. George passed away on March 14, 2001, and Claire would tell you he was the kindest person she ever knew.

Claire was cremated at the Sunset Hills Funeral Homes & Crematory in Plains, Mont. Her cremains were forwarded to Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services of Spokane. She will be laid to rest at a later date in the Holy Cross Cemetery of Spokane, and will share a plot with her sister Rita after she passes. They would both tell you they will be in a better place with the God they loved so dearly throughout their lives. Remember Claire in your prayers, and you may send condolences to www.cfcsSpokane.org.