Claire Vivian Liburd's Obituary
Claire Vivian Jones was born on December 18, 1941 to Ethel Carter Jones and Ceaphus Jones in Kings County (Bedford Stuyvesant), Brooklyn. The family moved to Flatbush, Brooklyn, and Claire would eventually attend Prospect Heights High School in Crown Heights. Claire initially intended to become a nurse, but she changed her mind and decided to go into banking, ultimately working for Manufacturers Hanover Bank. Shortly after she started working at the bank, Claire met Leslie Merrill Liburd at a party and it was love at first sight. They married in 1965.
Due to her great work ethic and her warm and loving personality, Claire quickly ascended through the ranks at her job, and ultimately became the bank manager. Over the course of her working years, Claire accumulated scores of interesting stories about the great relationships that she developed with her clients. Every Christmas, her clients would show their love and appreciation for Claire by showering her many cards and gifts.
In 1984, Claire suffered a massive stroke from a brain aneurysm shortly after arriving to work one morning. She spent many months in the hospital, and many more months undergoing rehab in order to recover from that stroke. Through sheer will and determination, Claire eventually recovered and returned to her independent self. Despite the fact that she could no longer work after her stroke, Claire was determined to stay active. Eventually moving to Atlanta, Georgia in 1994 with Merrill, Claire became an active member of the Church and the Woman’s Guild.
Once she was blessed with grandchildren, Claire was always happy to share with the world how much she loved them. She did her very best to spoil each of them as much as she possibly could.
In her later years, Claire became fascinated by the latest technology trends, and began to live on the internet! The internet opened up a whole new and exciting world for Claire. She learned how to email and text with her iPad and iPhone, and she even learned how to shop online! As she developed even more internet prowess, Claire took advantage of her new opportunity to show everyone how big her grandchildren were getting, how beautiful her granddaughter was becoming, and how handsome her grandsons were becoming. She constantly texted and e-mailed her friends to brag about her grandchildren’s many academic and athletic accomplishments as well. Though she always fussed about how she didn’t know how to use “the stupid iPhone”, Claire found a way to still have long conversations with friends via texts and email.
Claire loved to cook but loved to eat even more. Claire was famous for her brownies and sweet potato pies. Holidays were her favorite time of year to celebrate. She was always ready to entertain friends and family even if it wasn’t a holiday.
Claire was preceded in death by her husband, Merrill, one year ago. She will be dearly missed by her many friends that have grown to love her and call her sister. Claire is survived by her daughter Chimene, son-in-law Derek, grandchildren Maya, Derek Justin ( DJ) and Trent, her sister Gail Gammon, her brother in laws Franklin Gammon and Tony Delsoin, sister-in-laws Zora Clement and Emelda Cathcart, her nephew, Marc Delsoin, nieces Rahsaan Dawson and Cinawaye Elivert, along with her grandniece and grandnephews.
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