Klare Sullivan Campbell, homemaker and longtime resident of Clinton, Mississippi, died unexpectedly on November 4, 2021, at the age of 94.

Klare is survived by her husband Josiah, her sons Rocky (Linda), Joe, David, and Mike (Judi) Sullivan; ten grandchildren Michael (Aimee) Sullivan, Sara Rhodes, Joshua (Ashley) Sullivan, Ferris Sullivan, Erin Klare Sullivan, Jenny Coleman, Kai Sullivan, Cole Byrd, Bailey (William) Ward and Aubrey (Alex) Gharakanian; and eight great grandchildren, Vance Sullivan, Maverick Sullivan, BryLee Rhodes, Sullivan Rhodes, Campbell Sullivan, Caleb Coleman, Carly Coleman, and Maddox Klare Ward.

Klare was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on December 16, 1926, to Joseph and Gertrude Bazsinsky. She graduated from Carr Central High School and attended Louisiana State University. On August 14, 1948, she wed and was married to the late Aubrey Sullivan from Washington County, AL, who passed away on April 15, 2005. In May 2009 Klare married again to Josiah Campbell of Atlanta, Georgia.

Klare was a devoted wife and mother. She was well-known in her beloved Clinton community. Klare was one of those individuals who never met a stranger; she seemed to know or was known by everyone. Talking to people came naturally to her although she did not see this in herself. Rumor has it that she could talk for 30 minutes to the wrong telephone number. There once lived a commercial bag salesman from Yazoo city whose market territory was the Southeast. He knew by name most of the people in Mississippi. Klare knew the rest of them.

Among her hobbies and achievements were writing, painting, refinishing old furniture, square dancing, telling stories, and being a loyal parent and grandparent in the seats at baseball, soccer, band, and dance recitals of her sons and grandchildren. Her writings included forays into both poetry and prose. Many, maybe most, of her writings had a heartwarming human-interest appeal often including moral and ethical themes laced with humor and sincerity. Klare published four books and wrote columns in several small town newspapers over the years. She had a knack for storytelling that opened up opportunities to speak before groups of her peers, senior citizens communities, and even as a guest story teller on the river boat Delta Queen.

Her books and stories remembered the good that she had experienced and observed in life. They told of friends, neighbors, her children and grandchildren, family vacations, being the proud mother of a guitar player, the wife of a quail hunter and his dogs, Shirley's house, the passing of the day of the train caboose, and the wonders of the Creation. But, perhaps the most remembered stories were the ones she told at bedtime to her sons and grandchildren. These simple, made-up stories typically ended with a moral and were personalized using sons or grandchildren's first names with the last name "Jones" as the characters in the stories.

A couple of other "Klare" things that made her unique to those who knew her. She could "rock" a scarf; she loved to wear them. On the day of her passing, her penchant or passion for wearing scarves was remembered by two family friends, one even used the word "panache" (whatever that means) in reference to Klare's flare with scarves. This was something her own sons never noticed (removed comma) but other people who knew her obviously did. There was also the time that Klare brought the wrong cat home from the vet. "MOM! This isn't our cat!" She was lovingly reminded of her mistake many, many times through the years at family get togethers. And finally, Klare's natural ability to confuse words and names would cause even a stoic to crack a smile. "He loved the iPod shirt I gave him." "The gargoyle sweater and socks go well together." and another favorite "We're meeting at Bird Bath and Beyond". All were typical of things that made Klare "Klare".

Visitation is from 3 to 5 PM on Sunday, November 7, and 10 to 11 AM on Monday, November 8 with funeral service to follow at 11:00 AM at Wright & Ferguson Funeral Home in Clinton, Mississippi. Interment will be at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Reverend John Reeves will officiate.