Clare Bernadette Spurlock (nee Butler), 88, of Nashua, wife of Donald T. Spurlock, passed away at her home Wednesday afternoon, March 15, 2023, surrounded by her loving family.
A native of Currahill, Kilmoganny, County Kilkenny, Ireland, she was born on June 1, 1934, daughter of the late James and Mary (Dunne) Butler. Clare was the youngest of five wild Butler sisters, Margaret (Greta), Brigid (Linda), Sister Ellen Theresa (Eily), and Mary.
Clare grew up in a farming community, crossing the fields to school and to church and to dances. She and her friends played in the ruins of a castle that stood on her father’s land, setting tea parties for the neighbor children.
Clare received her nurse’s training in Manchester, England. She worked in England and Ireland before traveling to the United States to work at Fort Hamilton Hospital in Hamilton, Ohio. After her marriage in 1961, Clare left the medical profession to raise her family, returning to nursing after she arrived in Nashua, where she was employed at the Hunt Community. Following her retirement, Clare continued to volunteer with the residents.
In her leisure time, Clare enjoyed knitting sweaters and scarves for her family and made prayer shawls for the sick with the knitting circle at St. Christopher Church in Nashua. Clare enjoyed travelling to Ireland and England to visit her sisters and their children and made several trips visiting her own children and grandchildren around the USA. In later years, she enjoyed a cruise through the Caribbean and a driving trip to California.
Members of her family include her husband of 61 years, Donald T. Spurlock, whom she married on November 3, 1961 in Hamilton, OH; her children, Donna Spurlock, Linda Spurlock, Brian Spurlock and his spouse Chris, and John Spurlock and his spouse Sandra Reed; and two grandchildren, Michael Spurlock and Rachel Spurlock; also many nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Clare was also predeceased by her sisters.
Calling hours will be held at the FARWELL FUNERAL HOME, 18 Lock Street, Nashua on Tuesday evening, March 21st from 6 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Christopher Church, 62 Manchester Street, Nashua, Wednesday, March 22nd at 11 a.m. Interment will follow in Edgewood Cemetery. Friends are invited to attend and asked to kindly meet at the church. Donations may be made in her memory to St. Christopher Parish, the Salesian Missions or Mary Knoll. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.farwellfuneralservice.com
