Clara Mae Messick Evans

Clara Mae Messick Evans, 102, passed away on August 16, 2024 at her home in Herndon, Virginia. She was born in Cambridge, Maryland on December 19, 1921.

Clara graduated from Hurlock High School in 1938 and from Easton Memorial School of Nursing in 1942. She joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1943 and served with the 203rd General Evacuation Hospital, stationed in England and France. She returned when the war ended, living and working in New York City and Atlantic City before making her home in Washington, DC and Arlington, Virginia, then eventually returning to Cambridge in retirement. She worked for various hospitals, the American Red Cross, and as a public health nurse, and was active in her church and community. She enjoyed reading, puzzles, winning at Skip-Bo and Scrabble, and traveling.

She is survived by two daughters, Susan A. Evans of Hilton Head Island, SC, and Patricia Evans Kreutz (James) of Herndon, VA, grandchildren Michael Fox (Katie), Laura Fox, Kristin Ruggiero (Chris), Karin Shaban (Jimmie), Andrea Boccarosse, Caroline Boccarosse (Alex Campolo) and Elizabeth Boccarosse, nine great-grandchildren, sisters Shirley Abbott and Janet Messick, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Robert D. Evans, her parents Perry R. and Lillian Woodward Messick, brothers Donald, Robert and Kenneth Messick, sisters Gladys Nepert, Ann Slacum and Nancy Ressler, and son-in-law Ralph Boccarosse, Jr. 

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at 12pm at the Eastern Shore Veterans Cemetery Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Military Women’s Memorial, Schley Drive, Arlington, VA, 22202. Arrangements are in the care of Thomas Funeral Home, P.A. in Cambridge.