Claire Boechler

Claire Boechler, 99, Bismarck, formerly of Karlsruhe, passed away at her home, surrounded by family on Sunday, December 29, 2024. 

 Mass of Christian Burial will be at 12:30 PM on Monday, January 6, 2025, at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, 518 Raymond Street, Bismarck. 

Visitation will be on Sunday from 5-7:00 PM at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, with a vigil prayer service and rosary starting at 7:00 PM. 

Claire was born to Frank and Eva (Wald) Boehm in Karlsruhe, ND, on July 28, 1925, the ninth of eleven children. As an adult she often marveled at the strength of her parents and took pride in being one of the seven “Boehm Girls”. Claire’s mother instilled the virtues of faithfulness, charity, kindness, gentleness, patience and the value of hard work both in the home and in the fields, while her father gifted her a love of learning, reading and music, all of which she would carry through her entire life. Attending “Sister’s school” through eighth grade in the strongly German-Russian community, Claire learned to speak English for the first time. Claire graduated Valedictorian from Karlsruhe High School in 1943 and after a brief time teaching in a one room schoolhouse, married Alphonse Boechler on October 14, 1946 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Moving onto Al’s family farm, together they built a successful farm/ranch operation including a strong herd of registered angus cattle.

Both Al and Claire were committed to hard work, church and community. Claire spent many years sharing her time and talent teaching CCD (religion classes), serving almost countless funeral and wedding meals with the Christian Mothers, volunteering at numerous school activities and working election polling sites alongside Al.

When God delayed Claire and Al the gift of children of their own, Claire spent nearly two decades as a second mother and providing a second home many of her nieces and nephews, sharing her love, devotion to God, and talent for filling bellies with the best homecooked meals.

Claire’s vegetable gardens were legendary, a testament to her love of spending her days drenched in the sunshine and being serenaded by the birds living in the shelterbelt protecting her garden and home. Many families of friends and relatives were nourished with bounty of her loving work, from her garden, her pantry of canned goods, and from the thousands of chickens she raised over the years. She not only provided marvelous farm grown chicken, she also taught many of her extended family respect for God’s gifts by giving them the opportunity participate in the preparation of those gifts from coop to table.

As her loved ones grew up and had families of their own many looked forward Al’s annual cattle round up and Claire’s unparalleled chicken and rice, mountains of German potato salad and fresh tomato and cucumber salad. You truly understood the taste of love if you were ever lucky enough to be served her kase knoephla made with homemade cottage cheese or her rivela soup, a Sunday after Mass staple, along with hamburgers featuring Al’s ground beef and her homemade buns. You always knew rivela soup was coming when sumptuous creamed chicken appeared for Saturday night supper.

Although Claire would claim to be no artist, her artistry, craftsmanship, and attention to detail were on full display in dozens of afghans, quilts, and baby blankets she produced over the years, including an intricately crocheted Baptismal gown worn by her grandsons, as well as some of her great grandchildren. 

Following Al’s passing, Claire moved to Bismarck in 2004 to be closer to her son Patrick, daughter-in-law Vicky and her cherished grandsons. In Bismarck, she was delighted to blessed with the opportunity to attend daily Mass and her sweet, kind demeaner and infectious smile gained her many loyal friends both from 8am Mass and Serra Club. She treasured the fact that her Cathedral district apartment allowed her to walk to Mass, but mostly that it allowed her home to be an after-school haven for her precious grandsons. She was a fixture at all their music and sporting events at Cathedral Elementary and St Mary’s Central High School. Relieved from her farm wife duties, she was able to fully immerse herself in her love of reading. Her second bedroom, intended as a guestroom, quickly grew into a library. Declaring she had “retired from nearly 70 years of cooking”, she delighted in taking her family out for brunch after Sunday Mass. It was also interesting how often food delivery drivers would claim to recognize her face or address. When her sister Rose moved to Bismarck, Claire looked forward their weekly visits at Marillac Manner and St Vincent’s for rummikub and jigsaw puzzles until Rose’s passing in 2012.

Claire’s final years were spent learning to receive and be cared for after a lifetime of giving and caring, which ended up being gifts of grace for both her and her son. 

Claire is survived by her son, Patrick (Vicky) Boechler, Bismarck; grandsons, Christian (Mary) Boechler, Fargo; Nicholas (Kaitlyn) Boechler, Bismarck; great grandchildren, Judah, Lydia and Mark; Sarah and Jamie. She is also survived by many beloved nieces and nephews. 

She is preceded in death by her parents; siblings, John (Bridgette) Boehm, Elizabeth (Chris) Krim, Regina (George) Ganje, Marie (John) McNamara, Rose Boehm, Anne (Leo) Zerr, Mike (Dorothy) Boehm, Joe Boehm, Monica (Larry) Krebsbach, Frank (Marion) Boehm and an infant brother Michael.