Clare Louise Schwartz

Clare Louise Schwartz February 13, 1925 – April 23, 2018 Clare and her siblings were born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, by Joseph Carp and Etta (Hodes) Carp. Their father worked in the sash and door business, and the family also included Etta’s father, Max, who had a tailoring business in the basement. In 1940 Clare and her younger sister Ruth moved with their parents to Miami, where their father and his brother-in-law started a lumber company. Their older brother, Paul, was away at Harvard University at the time; tragically, he died at sea during World War II. Clare was not yet 16 when she first met her future husband, Hyman Schwartz, at a summer camp in upstate New York. Later when Hy joined the Army, during a 10-day leave in fall 1943 the two got married in Miami. That same year, Clare enrolled at the University of Miami where she majored in Spanish. In 1946, after graduation and the war’s end, she joined Hy in American-occupied Germany. Clare worked for a year as a Purchasing and Contracting Officer, and Hy for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When they later relocated to Switzerland, she studied linguistics at the University of Zurich, while Hy completed his civil engineering studies. In 1952, the couple and their two Swiss-born daughters, Heidi and Terri, moved to Northern Virginia so that Hy, now a civilian, could work at Corps headquarters. Settling in Alexandria, the family grew: first Gary, and then the twins, Ricky and Randy, were born. While continuing to raise five children, Clare completed a master’s degree program in psychology at George Washington University. In 1961 the family moved to Arlington County, and two years later Clare joined the county’s Drewry Mental Health Center, as a psychologist specializing in group therapy. She retired as the Director of the Day Treatment Program there in 1986. Clare and Hy enjoyed retirement, especially after moving to Oakton in 1993. They explored new restaurants and took in performances at Wolf Trap and elsewhere. They were active in the Northern Virginia Ethical Society. Clare joined the Red Hatters of Vienna and later the Northern Virginia Women’s Club, as well as other local women’s clubs which welcomed her warmly. She took Spanish lessons and met regularly with her neighborhood knitters group, where she pursued her new passion for jewelry making. She visited countless arts & crafts fairs and was an avid collector. When Hy passed away in 2005, just a month shy of their 62nd anniversary, Clare began living alone for the first time in her life. Yet she continued to be socially active, thriving with the attention, help, and love of friends and neighbors. Clare once said of her five children, “We gave them wings and a good education, and they flew.” Heidi Shapiro, a retired social worker, lives in Baton Rouge; Terri, a retired graphic designer, in Amsterdam; Gary, who died in 2006, was an antiques dealer in Rosendale, NY; Rick, a management consultant, and his wife Lauren, an artist, live in Menlo Park, CA; and Randy, a math professor, lives in Ann Arbor, MI. Clare’s survivors also include her sister Ruth Rosow, and Ruth’s daughter Paula McCartha and her family, all of whom live in Florida. Clare was a proud and loving (great-)grandmother. Grandson Jeremy and his family live in Boston, and granddaughter Rachel and her family live in Tel Aviv. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations can be made to the Shepherd’s Center of Oakton-Vienna at https://scov.nm-secure.com/donate . The Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all-volunteer organization supporting independent living for mature adults.