Clarece Naomi Bray, of Tullahoma, passed this life on Thursday, April 2nd, 2020 at Manchester Health Care Center at the age of 98. Clarece was born in Nashville to the late Oscar George and Sarah Adelia Pinkerton Derseweh. She graduated from Greenbriar High School and then Tennessee Tech University. She went on to receive her MA from both Peabody College and Vanderbilt University and then pursued graduate studies at Appalachian State College in Boone, North Carolina. Clarece taught school in Nashville’s Metro School System for thirty-two years, one year in Orlinda, TN, and then one year at Tullahoma High School. She enjoyed her teaching years very much. Clarece belonged to Faith Lutheran Church in Tullahoma and held offices in the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and in several professional organizations. She was an avid reader and liked to play golf and tennis in her younger years. She and her husband enjoyed shopping for antiques and refinishing them. They traveled to many places in the United States and abroad. Clarece loved life and her smile was her signature. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Harlo V. Bray; step-daughters, Olive Bray, Blanch Karker, and Ida Jeffers. Clarece is survived by one step-daughter, Susan Bray Schweigard and her husband Kenneth of Central Bridge, New York; and one step-son, Jim Bray and his wife Jalyn of Delhi, New York. A private burial will be held at Elmwood Cemetery in Springfield, Tennessee. There will be a register book outside of the main entrance to the funeral home on Monday, April 6th, 2020 from 9:00am-4:00pm for those who wish to come by and sign in. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Clarece Bray Scholarship Fund for Educators, c/o Faith Lutheran Church, 101 Bragg Circle, Tullahoma, Tennessee 37388.
Kilgore Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
