Clara M. Wilkens, 99,  Orlando, FL, formerly of Ada, MN, died after a brief illness on Sunday, Nov. 26 at the Village on the Green Nursing Home in Orlando, Fla. Her daughter Shelda who had been her caregiver for the past seven years was with her as she was greeted by her family and friends as she entered heaven.

Clara was born the youngest of four children to Peder and Gunhild Oanes on Sept. 21, 1918 in Ada, Minn. She attended country school near the farm where she and her sister, as the story goes, walked three miles to school every day.

Following World War II, she married Alfred Willkens on June 1, 1946. Together, they farmed in the Pleasant View area until they moved to Ada in 1973.

Clara was a member of Immanuel-Pleasant View Lutheran Church until joining Grace Lutheran Church, in Ada. She and her sister participated for many years in the church's quilting ministry.

In keeping with her opinion that one should always "make yourself useful", in later years, she worked in the kitchen at the local elementary school. When she moved to Florida in 2010, Shelda saw to it that she continued to make herself useful having her volunteer at St. John Lutheran Church as an office helper shredding papers and making sandwiches to serve the homeless.

She is survived by her three daughters and their families: Arlys Stadum (Andrew and Kati); Shelda Wilkens, and Claudia Cole (husband Phil and daughter Molly). Her niece Colleen Kappes and her family and Martin Oanes and his family also survive her.

Clara was preceded in death by her husband, parents, two brothers, Sanford and Oscar, and her sister Gudrun Olson as well as a niece, Mavis Olson, and a nephew, Dale Oanes.

Memorials may be sent to Grace Lutheran Church in Ada or to St. John Lutheran Church in Winter Park, Fla. or to the charity of the donor's choice.


Funeral: 11:00AM Monday, December 4, 2017 at Grace Lutheran Church, Ada, MN.

Visitation: One hour before the funeral on Monday at the church.

Burial: Ada Municipal Cemetery, Ada, MN.