Claire St. John
Thu, 03/13/2014 - 2:32pm
admin
Claire Pitkin St. John of Doyleville passed away early in the morning on March 3, just one week after becoming too ill to care for her horses. She was 73 years old. Claire was born in Norwood, Colo., and moved around a lot as a child. She had fond memories of riding her white Arabian mare Lady along the ditch banks around Clifton in the 1950s and of her grandparents' farm in Missouri. She spent most of her adult life in Washington, where she attended Washington State University, married twice, and raised two daughters on Waldron Island in Puget Sound and on a farm on the Black River south of Olympia. Never able to get Colorado out of her blood, she moved to Gunnison with her mother Ruby Bowyer around 1990. They settled on their property in Doyleville in 1996. Claire valued freedom, living in beautiful places, and communing with horses over material rewards and creature comforts. She also loved books and Free Speech TV. Claire treasured her close friends and neighbors and loved her daughters intensely without clinging to them. Claire is survived by her daughters, Narayani Kuhnau of Rochester, Wash., and Hannah Holm of Grand Junction, and their families; her sister Ann Orleman of Waldron, Wash. and her family; and her brother Robert Rains of Natches, Wash., as well as her horses Rufus and Saila and her dogs Petal and Lilly. A memorial service for Claire will be held in June.
