BIOGRAPHY

Clara Anderson was born in Winigan, Missouri, USA, on 2 July 1905. Her parents were Rev. Charles Ray and Clara Belle Tallman. Her father’s family originally hailed from Wales and later settled in Pennsylvania. Clara lost her mother at the age of five. During the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, her father devoted himself to caring for the sick.

Anderson demonstrated a strong aptitude for mathematics during her time at a Missouri high school, advancing as far as calculus. According to her granddaughter, Kellie Blue, she was the first girl in the state to take a calculus test. She went on to graduate from Springfield Teacher’s College of Missouri, beginning her teaching career in the late 1920s in logging camps along the Oregon coast. There, she taught the children of foreign immigrants, and her talents in English grammar, art, math, and music made her an especially effective educator for students learning English as a second language.

Her first marriage was to Victor Samuel O’Herliney in Oregon. He worked as an engineer on the Oregon jetty program during the 1930s until a serious injury left him in need of ongoing care and hospitalization. The couple had one child, Marylee Joslyn O’Herliney, born on 5 February 1931.

Following a divorce in the mid-1930s, Clara raised her daughter on her own while continuing her teaching career. When Marylee graduated from college, got married, and relocated to Alaska, Clara later married Einar Paul Anderson in the late 1950s—a widower and an engineer with a Portland electrical company.

Clara had a passion for travel, visiting destinations such as Hawaii, Europe, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. However, her greatest joy was gardening. She became more acquainted with Alaska after Marylee began teaching at Elmendorf Air Force Base. Though she remained an Oregon resident for many years, Clara eventually moved to Clackamas Town Center Village around 1986, after maintaining her home became too challenging. She arrived in Alaska in 1999, at the age of 90. After moving to Homer, she was recognized by Haven House as Volunteer of the Year for her contributions to the community.

Anderson passed away in Homer, Alaska, on 12 September 2016, at the age of 111 years, 72 days.

RECOGNITION

In July 2015, she celebrated her 110th birthday, becoming the first Alaskan supercentenarian. She remained the only one until June 2024, when Louise Thompson turned 110. Anderson remains the oldest known person to ever die in the U.S. state of Alaska.

Her age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group on 5 July 2017.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Homer’s centenarian Clara Anderson turns 110” – Homer Tribune, July 2015

GALLERY