Claire Asher

Claire Anne Laterneau Asher, age 89, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on September 10, 2024.

Claire was born on March 30, 1935, and raised in Whiting, Indiana, outside of Chicago. Being near cosmopolitan Chicago influenced Claire’s many cultural interests. As a young girl, she attended art classes at The Art Institute of Chicago. Claire’s natural creative instincts flourished, and she experimented with painting and 3D art into adulthood. Eventually, she became an extremely talented photographer. Claire’s mother, Rozella Laterneau, attended Chicago’s famous Antoinette Pope School of Fancy Cookery. Rozella’s culinary talents transferred to her daughter, who could whip up a gourmet meal of her own creation.

During her high school years, she went on a class trip to Washington, D.C., where she caught William Johnston Asher’s eye. That fateful event led to marriage eight years later in 1960, after Bill completed his graduate studies. Bill worked as a chemical engineer and shared Claire's intellectual curiosity and a tendency to rise late on weekends. Together they raised their three daughters in New Jersey.

After their daughters were grown, the couple moved out to El Granada, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Claire joined the local Coastside Women’s Club, and made many friends there. She was quite the character, and her charming sense of humor made her fun company. Claire spent the last 17 years in Columbia, Maryland, to be near her middle daughter and family. She actively participated in her community by being President of the Board at her condominium complex. She was proud of her service on the Board.

Her family loved her dearly and will miss her playful sense of humor, her delight in the natural world which was evident in her enthusiastic discussions about her prolific rock collection, her abundant plants, and the birds outside her window; her boundless curiosity demonstrated by her many hours on the internet, seeking out news, NASA photos, trivia on different cultures, plus whatever else piqued her interest. We will also miss her love, of which we were always certain.

In Claire’s own words, she would like to be remembered for, “raising as best I could three beautiful young ladies in all ways, cooking good food, drinking mostly good wine, producing some artwork of quality, and, of course, getting along with, arguing with, supporting, and loving my husband.”

In her family’s own words, we cannot find a poetic or beautiful enough way to honor our mother/grandmother, so these few meager paragraphs will have to do.

Claire was preceded in death by her husband, Bill (who passed in 2010) and her brother, David Lindsay Laterneau. Claire is survived by three daughters, two son-in-laws, two granddaughters and a grandson-in-law.

Donations in Claire’s name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org/).

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