CLARENCE LEROY TATRO 1906-2002

ANDERSON, TATRO, PRATT, TANN, COONEY, TALLEY, NOGGLE, IHNS, STEE, NELSON, BURRETT

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 12/12/2007 at 19:53:38

CLARENCE LEROY TATRO

Funeral Services for Clarence Tatro were held Wednesday, October 9, 2002, at 10:30 A. M. in the West Clermont Lutheran Church. The Reverend Galen Kuhens officiated. Special music was provided by Arthur Amundson, soloist and Kristin Fitzgerald, organist. Casket Bearers were: Tamara Knickerbocker, Lynne Fuchs, Kevin Tatro, Kyle Tatro Harold Cooney, John Gass, Doug Guyer, Roger Loftsgard. The Schutte Funeral and Cremation Service of Clermont was in charge of arrangements. Burial was in God's Acre Cemetery at Clermont.

Clarence LeRoy Tatro, the son of Roy Russell Tatro, Sr. and Bertha "Mary" Marie Anderson Tatro, was born October 2, 1906, on a farm two-and-a-half miles northwest of Clermont in Fayette County. He passed away Sunday, October 6, 2002, in Maple Crest Manor at Fayette, Iowa. He had reached the age of 96 years and four days.

He attended the Clermont Elementary School and was graduated from the Clermont High School in 1924. Clarence helped his father on the farm until his brother graduated from high school and drove a freight truck, then left for Chicago, where he worked for Western Electric.

After three years Clarence returned to Clermont, where he worked for his father on the farm from 1930 to 1936. He was employed by Pratt Electric in West Union, and there he met Helen Elsie Pratt, and they were married on May 23, 1936, in the Presbyterian Manse at Galena, Illinois.

He also worked for the Rath Packing Company in Waterloo for two years. Clarence drove a truck for Elsheimer's meats in West Union. They returned to Clermont where he worked as a tank wagon agent for White Star Oil Company from 1942 to 1957. Clarence was the custodian at the Valley Schools from 1957 to 1972, where he was presented with the "Custodian of the Year" award in 1970.

Clarence's family meant a great deal to him. He and Helen had two children, Ronald and Elaine.
He was a past member of the St. Paul Methodist Church in Elgin, serving as chairman of the board of trustees. Clarence was presently a member of the West Clermont Lutheran Church. He had served as chairman of the Fayette County Solid Waste Management Commission as well.

Clarence was active and interested in the community. He served on the Valley Community School Board and was President for most of his term. He was Mayor of Clermont and served on the City Council.

He is preceded in death by his parents, one brother, Orval Tatro, four sisters, Viola Tann, Irene Cooney, Stella Talley, and a sister, Evelyn who died as an infant, and one granddaughter, Michelle Anne Noggle.

Surviving are his wife, Helen, a son, Ronald Walter Tatro and his wife, Elaine Ann (nee Ihns), of Marion, IA, and a daughter, Elaine Marilyn Noggle of Clermont, IA; four grandchildren, Lynne Allyn Fuchs, Tamara Leigh Knickerbocker, Kevin Michael Tatro, and Kyle Allen Tatro; eight great grandchildren, James Allen Nuehring, Andrew John Knickerbocker, Rebecca Linn Knickerbocker, Dakota Blake Noggle, Cherokee Dawn Noggle, Joshua Brandon Thompson, Jared Brent Thompson, Jordon Beau Thompson, three sisters, Hazel Stee of Castalia, Alice Nelson of Clermont, and Andree Burrett of Waukon, and one brother, Roy Tatro and wife, Bonnie of Elgin, IA.

In his early years, Clarence played baseball and basketball. He played after high school and then for two years after his marriage to Helen. He played on Northeast Iowa teams which traveled in Iowa and Wisconsin. Besides his interest in sports, Clarence was an avid gardener and enjoyed reading.

Waukon Standard newspaper
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