Clariece Walker Burdeshaw passed away peacefully on February 17, 2019 after a prolonged illness. Although she was the great-granddaughter of the founder of Okeechobee, Peter Raulerson, she was born in Tucson, Arizona to Edison and Sybil Walker on January 16, 1937, while her family was there for a short time and then spent her entire life in Okeechobee. Hers was a lifetime of music.
At the age of ten while in the sixth grade she was the first chair clarinetist in the High School Band. After learning to play the piano at an early age she played piano for the Christian Scientist Church. Teaching herself to play the organ on Faith Meserve’s organ (her great aunt and the daughter of Peter Raulerson,) she became the church organist at the First Baptist Church at the age of 13.
She moved from the First Baptist Church to Church of Our Savior in 1969 and played the organ there for the next 30 years. All in all she played for churches for over 50 years. She also played the organ for most of the churches in Okeechobee being called upon to play for their revivals and special occasions.
Following the death of her great aunt she purchased the very organ on which she taught herself to play from the estate sale of her great aunt. Of all the music she enjoyed she enjoyed most the group of people headed by Hubert Harden who gathered in homes and sang gospel music for hours on end. She loved school and worked hard, graduating as the Valedictorian of her class.
She and her homeroom teacher, Aunt Mattie McCranie together sold sandwiches and all sorts of things to send her entire high school classmates to Washington D.C. Their class was the first to do so from Okeechobee. Her career was in law.
She was a legal secretary all her life until her retirement due to a problem with her eyes. She typed all the early records in the public records of Okeechobee when she worked at the age of 18 in the Clerk’s office. Her name is probably on more recorded instruments in the public records of Okeechobee County than anyone’s.
She loved the game of golf and she was an accomplished bridge player. She played in groups of the elite bridge players in Okeechobee and excelled at the game. She was preceded in death by her parents and is survived by her husband of 63 years, John Edward Burdeshaw; her son, Paul; daughter, Carin Cay (William) Boyd, her grandson, Cody Allen (Tara) Boyd; granddaughter, Angela Cay (Brandon) Zumbrum; great-grandchildren, Caely Boyd, Evan Boyd, Anna Corinne Zumbrum and Tripp William Zumbrum; and her sister, Faith (Wallace) Hawk; and nephews, Jeff (Melinda) Hawk, and Joe Hawk; and niece, Jane (Tommy) Trimnal.
There will be a memorial service on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 2 p.m. at The Church of Our Savior.
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