Claudette Pehr

Wonderful wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother – Claudette Marie Pehr – has gone to Heaven! What a blessing it was to have her love, support, guidance, wisdom, humor and so much more in our lives! We love you, Mom!

Longtime Sandia Park, NM, resident Claudette Marie Pehr, 84, passed away on Tuesday, December 10, 2019.

She was born on Saturday, August. 17, 1935, in Glastonbury, CT, to Joseph Claude LaMay and Julia (Urbansky) LaMay. She was a graduate of Glastonbury High School in 1953, followed by the St. Agnes Home in West Hartford, CT, where she was trained to provide medical care and assistance for young mothers and infants. It was the beginning of a lifelong passion Claudette nurtured, supporting and caring for children through Catholic ministries and schools.  Her first job was working for a pediatric physician, Dr. Desmond, also in Hartford.  Claudette and Frank J. Pehr were married on Sept. 2, 1957, at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Glastonbury. The wedding was just a week after Frank received his commission as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. For the next three decades, his career as a pilot took them to Air Force bases in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, California, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, Florida, Utah, Ohio and New Mexico, where they settled in Sandia Park in 1977.  She enjoyed hiking, gardening, reading, knitting and quilting, but her greatest joy came from her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her active lifestyle included snow skiing, water skiing, canoeing, birdwatching and sailing.  She and Frank operated Blue Sky Management, a property management business, for 10 years.  Together they enjoyed ocean cruises, camping and traveling in their RV. They visited every state and at least 19 countries in Europe, Asia and Central America. A memorable trip was when she and close friend Kay Kovacs traveled to Thailand in 1971 to visit their husbands, who were serving in Vietnam.

She is survived by her husband, retired Lt. Col. Frank J. Pehr, of Sandia Park, NM; children, Pamela Pehr Birnbrich, husband, Axel, of Reynoldsburg, OH, Darrell Pehr, wife, Linda, of Corpus Christi, TX; daughter-in-law, Deneen M. Taylor of Seabrook, TX, Susan Abernathy, husband, Rob, of Loveland, CO, Christina Byers, husband, Toby, of Carlsbad, NM, and Thomas Pehr, wife, Kathy, of Albuquerque; grandchildren, Renee Williamson, husband, Bobby, of Melbourne Beach, FL, Alex Birnbrich, wife, Alysa, of Houston, TX, Toby Birnbrich, wife, Emily Hulthen, of Columbus, OH, Jessica Pehr, husband, Brian Evans, of Cedar Crest, NM, Christy Brenner, husband, Patrick, of Bernalillo, NM, Kelden Pehr of Riverside, CA, Zach Birnbrich, of Indianapolis, IN, Will Abernathy of San Francisco, CA, Nick Pehr, of Seabrook, TX, Allison White of North Miami Beach, FL, Travis White, Eddie Byers and Dean Byers, all of Carlsbad, and Henry Pehr, of Albuquerque; and four great-grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by her son, Kevin Pehr; her parents; and her sister, Barbara Bemer.

Rosary will be recited followed by a Funeral Mass Saturday, December 14, 2019, 12:30 p.m. at Holy Child Parish in Tijeras, NM.  A Reception will follow in the parish hall.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, New Mexico Chapter.