Claire Macfarlane Obituary

Claire Macfarlane

Aug 19, 1927 - Jul 9, 2024

Concord

Family, children, and art were everything for Claire. She and her husband, Noble (known to his friends as Mac), raised their four children in Lexington, Kentucky. He was a pediatrician and she was a kindergarten and art teacher at The Lexington School, which all their children attended. In an alumni questionnaire from Skidmore College (her alma mater), Claire was asked "What accomplishment are you are most proud of?" and her reply was "the children we raised and the children I taught who are so accomplished - many in art."

After teaching at Lexington School, Claire helped care for her mother as she experienced Alzheimer's. She advocated and fundraised for Alzheimer's, raising over one million dollars for Alzheimer's research. Claire was very proud of the work she did for Alzheimer's research. It was a significant, yet ironic, accomplishment given that she died Tuesday, July 9, 2024, of Alzheimer's herself.

After Mac's retirement, they became adventurers. They traveled the world - Central and South America, Canada, Europe, Far East, Australia, and New Zealand. They also split their time between their home in Lexington and Sandusky, where Claire was born. In Sandusky, they lived in the house that her father built on the Cedar Point Chaussee on Lake Erie. Sandusky was a happy place for them both.

Claire is survived by her two sons and their families, Sandy and Christiana Macfarlane of Piedmont, California (Noble Macfarlane and Hannah Lennett of Amsterdam, NL, Peter Macfarlane and Abby Halperin of Berkeley, California, and their daughter, Eleanor), Duncan and Meredith Macfarlane of Charlottesville, Virginia (Duncan and Genevieve Macfarlane of Easton, Maryland, Stuart and Katina Macfarlane of Raleigh, North Carolina, and their daughter, Margaret and son, Shep, and Christopher Macfarlane and Caroline Vesey of Washington, D.C.); two daughters and their families, Lindsay and Bernie Maurer (Pax and Wyatt Maurer) of Boston, Massachusetts, and Stuart and Rolf Gesen of Concord, New Hampshire (Hollis and Isabel Gesen of Boston, Massachusetts, Clark Gesen of Concord, New Hampshire, and Hannah and Michael Slafsky of Concord, New Hampshire, and their two sons, Warner and Hartford), sister-in-law, Sara Allen of Gilford, New Hampshire; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Noble Macfarlane Jr.; parents, Rowland and Grace Zimmerman of Sandusky; and brother and his wife, Charles and Shirley Zimmerman of Rye, New York.

Claire's celebration of life was Saturday, July 13, 2024, at South Church, Concord, New Hampshire. Private family burial will be later at Oakland Cemetery, Sandusky.

The family suggests memorial contributions in Claire's name be sent to a charity of your choice to improve the lives of children.