Farewell to Clara Folk

Clara Folk, a 65-year resident of Lemon Grove, died in her sleep on May 9, 2013 in La Mesa at the home of her daughter and son-in-law.  She was 91.
     Observant and witty, with a rollicking laugh that belied her petite size, Clara was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1922.  She grew up in San Diego and attended Hoover High School and San Diego State College.  
     She met her soul mate, Jim Folk, during World War II when both were working at the U.S. Post Office.  Clara was one of the first women employed by the Post Office in 1941 when the Pearl Harbor catastrophe drew America into the war, leaving millions of women to run the nation's institutions, agencies and industries.
     Clara became a POG -- a Post Office Gal -- replete with unflattering navy pants, baggy shirt and sensible shoes.  Her sister POGs, who also hauled 50-pound sacks of mail when they weren't pushing carts stacked with parcels and boxes, joined her at the day's end by changing into chic suits, fancy hats with veils, stockings with seams, and high heels, and repairing to the nearest watering hole for dinner.
     Thanks to Claire Canaris, Clara's daughter, the POGs held a reunion tea in the H. Lee House four years ago.  The tea room staff was agog as these charming women, wearing their years with grace and elegance, arrived, some with canes and some with walkers, and viewed photographs of their younger selves in the 1940s.  Many tea-time toasts were proposed!
     Clara and Jim were life members of the Lemon Grove Historical Society -- Jim served as president in 1996-97 -- and they were active participants in Society projects for years.  They were there in 1999 when the Parsonage Museum opened its doors.  
     The Folks raised their three children, Claire, Merele and Jim in Lemon Grove.  Family activities crop up throughout past issues of the Lemon Grove Review (photos of Claire in her chic Pan Am stewardess uniform were favorites).  As an old-fashioned girl, Clara taught her children the importance of the hand-written letter and thank-you note.  But she moved to the online world without missing a beat and kept up a lively correspondence with friends and family into the last week of her life.
     Clara was a member of a creative writing group in Alpine, an ardent supporter of the Congregational Church, a cat lover and defender of animals, and, with her beloved Jim, a world traveler.    More than anything, she was an adored and adoring mother.