Clara Mazzei
June 1, 1925 - April 18, 2025
Clara Estella Dobson was born to Ed and Stella Dobson, June 1 1925, little sister to Cliff and Ruby. Older sister Roberta had passed away from the Spanish flu before Mom was born. She was born on the farm North of D'arcy. She loved life on the farm, riding horses for hours with her best friend Laureen Johnston. They would take a lunch and a bag of oats for the horses.
Mom went to a one room school for grades 1-8, but sometimes Ruby would make her run behind the horse and buggy if she was late! Her grades 9 & 10 were taken by correspondence...not online back then...but felt lucky to be able to attend grades 11 & 12 in Saskatoon when her father paid her tuition to attend classes at City Park Collegiate. Off to the big city went Mom and Laureen, staying at boarding school and loved it.
Following graduation in 1943, Mom went to the Saskatoon Normal School to get her teaching certificate. She returned to Darcy to live with her parents and take a teaching job at a one room school...her wage was $800 for the year. From there, she moved South of D'arcy to teach at Big Ben school, another one room school. It was at this time that she met Dad, Guy Mazzei, through a friend, and in 1946 they married - much to the displeasure of her father!
Mom's married life started out with the challenge of living with her in laws, John and Rosina...who spoke Italian only...Mom did not speak Italian! She quickly figured out that she would need to learn Italian so she could hold her own. John and Rose moved to the Saskatoon and in 1955, Leonard was born, quickly followed by Marilyn in '56...a few years later, Gloria in '59 and Morris in '64.
Mom always had a large garden on the farm, and had either Tubby or Sandy (Golden Labs) at her side while taking on all the farm chores, meals to the field and driving the combine when needed in the fall.
In 1980 Mom & Dad bought a cabin at Coteau Village on Diefenbaker Lake. At the time, the trees were few and far between, mostly bald prairie, but a lovely beach. The cabin was just a shell of a building, so with the help of uncle Cliff the family worked to finish the rest of the interior. When they bought the property, they were told that they would always have a view of the lake...that was before the trees all grew up! They had lots of fun there, with Gordon & Dolly Grimes being their next-door neighbours, lots of fish fries and card games.
Mom got her driver's licence later in her life, and was happy that she could make a trip to Bickleigh for groceries without having to watch out for the occasional police car that might be patrolling the area. She was pretty proud to get her licence as most her age never had to take a test.
Dad passed away in Oct. 1985, so Leonard moved home to farm and Mom continued to live on the farm and moved to Saskatoon for the winters until 1995 when she bought a condo. She enjoyed her time in her condo, having unlimited water for her flowers, being social, going to dinner theatres, shows and choir presentations. With Morris and Monica in the city, she got to watch their boys grow up and enjoyed their visits. During the summer when she wasn't at the lake, she chauffeured Marilyn's kids to their various summer camps.
In 2010, at 85 years of age, Mom travelled to Italy with Marilyn, Randy and family. She was quite the trouper, running to board trains, and never complained. The highlight of the trip was the magical moment when Mom met Tony Peri in Mangone, Italy, a cousin of Dad's that had lived with John & Rose in Saskatoon for years. They held hands and cried, Tony said he never thought in all of his life that he would ever get to see her again...he at 90, she at 85...it was truly a touching moment. She flew home, all alone from Rome, the Italians tsk tsking about the fact the family was leaving her.
Mom moved to Primrose Chateau when her health was starting to fail, and eventually ended up in Oliver Lodge where she spent the last 6 years. Mom passed away peacefully after a life well lived at just shy of her 100th birthday, on Good Friday, April 18 2025 surrounded by family. She is survived by her children, Leonard (Nancy), Marilyn (Randy) and Morris (Monica); son in law Richard; grandchildren Sean (Lisa), Evan, Natashia (Brendan), Andrea (Adam), Linden, Bergen and Karlen (Keeley) great grandchildren Lachlan and Livia. Mom was predeceased by Dad, Guy, daughter Gloria, her parents and siblings, their spouses, her in laws.
Mom wanted to be buried with a wooden spoon and a good rubber scraper!
A Funeral Service was held on Friday, April 25, 2025 at 11:00 AM from Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Eston, SK.
Donations may be directed to the Eston Royal Canadian Legion Branch #155 or Telemiracle. Funeral arrangements entrusted to Shanidar Funeral Services.