Cecile (Hovda) Klamer

Cecile (Hovda) Klamer, 89, a long time resident of Jasper, Indiana, and a Southern Indiana civic leader, passed away quietly in Williamsburg, Virginia, on November 15, 2006.

She and her husband, Dr. Charles H. Klamer, retired to a lakeside home in Santa Claus, Ind., in 1990, moving to The Atria, Newburgh, Ind., in 2002 and Patriots Colony, in Williamsburg in 2004.

Born in 1917, Mrs. Klamer was the daughter of the founding Professor of Physics and Mathematics at then Evansville College, Dr. Olaf Hovda, and his wife Crescentia Hovda. A member of the National Honor Society at Bosse High School [1934], she graduated with honors from the University of Evansville in 1938. Mrs. Klamer was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority, served as editor of the U. of E. yearbook, sang in the choir, wrote for the college newspaper, and was crowned a shy but smiling home-coming queen in her senior year. After graduation, she served as a social worker in several Southern Indiana communities before her marriage to Dr. Klamer on August 22, 1940.

Mrs. Klamer enjoyed a close relationship with the University of Evansville from the time her father moved his family to Indiana to join the faculty in 1919. She lived near the campus, playing on the grounds and in her father's laboratory as a child, and studied there as an undergraduate student. Mrs. Klamer and her husband celebrated their wedding reception at the Hovda home on Rotherwood Avenue, now owned by the college. She grieved with the faculty, staff and students when the campus closed for a day to mark the death of her father.

Mrs. Klamer served with pride as a member of the board of trustees at the college for almost thirty years, was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award in 1972, and was named a Life Trustee in 1987. During her long service she helped to guide and support the dramatic expansion of the Evansville campus and the establishment of a second U. of E. campus at Harlaxton Manor, Grantham, England, where both she and Dr. Klamer happily served as members of the board for many years. She was a devoted advocate of the Support-a-Student program, corresponding with many graduates until the end of her life.

Mrs. Klamer was an enthusiastic and tireless community activist in Jasper, serving on numerous boards and committees during her four decades there. Included among her many achievements were serving as co-chairwoman for the Jasper Bicentennial Celebration, organizing and editing the Jasper History Book, and saving the oldest home in Dubois County from destruction. Personally calling on numerous corporations and foundations throughout the state, she raised the funds to move the house 5 blocks to a new permanent location – a move that took two full days, earned her national recognition, and nearly brought the town to a standstill as the 500-ton house with its 24-inch brick walls moved slowly up the street. She was a member of the Dubois County Historical Society, the 20th Century Literary Club, served on the Raintree Council of the Girl Scouts for over fifty years, and was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Jasper since 1947.

An accomplished gardener, Mrs. Klamer, joined by her husband, lovingly entertained countless numbers of school children with tours of the gardens and grounds of their Jasper home. As a passionate environmentalist and preservationist, she reprimanded Jasper city workers who she found cutting down precious trees and repeatedly and successfully fought to replant areas left barren by those who did not agree with her stand. Mrs. Klamer and her husband were avid travelers who visited almost 200 countries and, as recently as 2000, enjoyed an adventure cruise to the North Pole. Her love of journalism was expressed through archives of their travels, a family history, massive correspondence, and artfully created Christmas cards that documented her family's activities over a period of sixty years.

Mrs. Klamer was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Charles, on November 20, 2005; an adult brother, Richard B. Hovda M.D. and two brothers, Oliver and Theodore, who died in childhood.

She is survived by three daughters, Emily McCutchan and her husband, Allen, of Del Mar, Calif., Rebecca Klamer of Santa Claus, Ind., and Charlotte Klamer of Williamsburg, Va.; a granddaughter, Katie Dalsemer of Topanga, Calif.; a grandson, Stephen Dalsemer and his wife, Kelly, of Ovieda, Fla.; two stepgranddaughters, Dianne McCutchan of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Melanie McCutchan of San Diego, Calif.; and two great-grandsons, Breven and Baylor Dalsemer.

The family will receive visitors at Becher-Kluesner Funeral Home in Jasper, Ind., from 2 to 6 p.m. Friday, November 24.

Funeral services for Mrs. Klamer will be held at Trinity United Church of Christ in Jasper on Saturday, November 25, at 11 a.m. The family will receive visitors in the Heritage Chapel of Alexander Memorial Park Cemetery, 2200 Mesker Park Dr., Evansville, Ind., on Saturday, November 25, from 3 to 3:30 p.m., with burial services to follow at the gravesite.

Arrangements by Alexander East Chapel, 2115 Lincoln Ave, Evansville, Ind. (812) 476-1351.

Until just before her death, Mrs. Klamer intently followed the activities at the college and was deeply appreciative of the on-going correspondence from her University of Evansville family whom she cherished. For those who wish, contributions may be made in her memory to the Olaf Hovda and Richard Berger Hovda Physics Scholarship, University of Evansville, 1800 Lincoln Avenue, Evansville, IN 47722.