Claire Reynolds' parents frequently heard their daughter chatter away in her bedroom when she was a child.

"Who are you talking to?" her father would ask.  "My students," the perky 4 year-old would respond, as she continued to prattle about reptiles, amphibians or Sunday school lore.

Claire was a natural educator, friends and family said.

She taught her toys, her pets and, in her final year, at-risk eighth-graders at Jackson Middle School in San Antonio.  But Saturday the lessons weren't about biology or algebra or geometry.  They weren't about academics at all.

A day after the 23-year-old died in a wreck near Menard, Claire was teaching her friends and family about life, faith, friendship and unconditional love.

"Claire was intelligent," her roommate Eve Nelson said.  She was valedictorian of her high school class in Kingsville and earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Trinity University in San Antonio before accepting the teaching post at Jackson Middle School.

In her first year of teaching, colleagues named her "Champion of Students."  She also had been selected as an adjunct professor for Trinity, where she would have mentored new teachers. 

Even after her death, Claire is still educating.  She is helping those who loved her learn about strength and support and that blessings do come out of tragedy.

(paraphrased from a tribute by Julie Schlabs,
staff writer )

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.
-Deuteronomy 32:2

    Tribute Page | Goodbye For Now |

Beautiful tribute to Claire from a college friend of hers...contains many wonderful pictures
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