- Date Of Birth: June 3, 1927
- Date Of Death: April 18, 2021
- State: Illinois
Klawdia “Klara” Chaney went to her Heavenly home on April 18, 2021.
She was born to Konstantin and Nena (Popov) Tributsch on June 3rd (circa 1930) in Babruysk, Belarus. After the death of her mother and remarriage of her father, she was placed into a state orphanage in Minsk at an early age.
After the German invasion of Russia in June 1941, she became an Ostarbeiter (forced laborer) at the Seibel Shoe Factory in Havenstein, Germany, which had been converted for the manufacturing of Army boots. After its destruction, she was shipped to the Holland border to dig ditches as the war was nearing its end. Having narrowly escaped death on two occasions, like many displaced persons, she settled in the American Sector of Berlin after the partitioning. It was there were she met her future husband, Emet Eugene Chaney, who was stationed there while serving in the US Army. He preceded her in death in March 2013. She also lost an unnamed infant son in June 1953, but has two surviving sons, David (Sherry) of Phoenix, AZ and Bruce of Jacksonville. Although the family had searched using numerous sources, no information on her two older brothers, Konstantin and Kim, has been found.
Klawdia enjoyed reading, especially the Bible and other Christian books. Later in life after her husband’s retirement, she was an avid walker at the Community Park and the JHS Bowl. Her favorite television viewings were Jeopardy!, figure skating and gymnastics, and more recently, polka dancing on RFD TV.
The family will miss her daily prayers, her latkes and goulash on holidays, and her ever-present insistence on having her way! Friends and acquaintances will surely miss the little lady with the foreign accent and her pragmatic viewpoint. However, our loss is Heaven’s gain. As the Apostle Paul wrote, she confessed publicly her belief in Jesus her Lord, fought the good fight, and now, has laid hold of life eternal.
