Our Sister M. Claire died peacefully at 5:00 PM. Her death, as her life reflected one of her favorite passages from the Letters of St. Paul:

Those things I used to consider gain, I have now appraised as loss in the light of Christ. I have come to rate all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ., for whose sake I have forfeited everything; I have accounted all else rubbish so that Christ may be my wealth and I may be in him. (Phil. 3:7-9)

Claire Angela Bock was born in Oakland, California, April 10, 1905 to Anne Kathryn (Tobin) and Charles Henry Bock. She had one older brother, Charles, and a younger sister, Catherine. She was educated by the Holy Names Sisters in Oakland and the Presentation Sisters in Berkeley and took piano lessons for 12 years with a goal of becoming a concert pianist. After High School she accepted a position in Oakland's foremost medical laboratory where in-service training for laboratory work was offered, and this was her interest and career for eight years, specializing in bacteriology. Eventually she had charge of two hospital laboratories in Oakland. She was also highly qualified for secretarial work and left the demanding hospital work for a position with the Board of Port Commissioners of Oakland as secretary.

A year later she was offered a position at the Newman Club in Berkeley as secretary to the chaplains and social secretary to the students. Fr. O'Hara, the Paulist chaplain, noticed her frequent visits to the chapel and asked if she had ever considered a religious vocation. Because she was not attracted to teaching or nursing, nor to a strictly cloistered life, he told her about the Benedictine Sisters at Clyde. She entered on October 11, 1933 and began her novitiate on April 18, 1934. Claire became Sr. M. Cecilia at her First Profession of vows on May 26, 1935. Final Profession was August 24, 1940.

Soon after entrance she worked in the Correspondence Department. She also set up a small laboratory in our infirmaries at Clyde, Tucson and Mundelein infirmaries where she taught the Sisters how to do Blood Counts and a few other laboratory tests. She was a pioneer member of our Kansas City monastery, serving as organist and choir director, then as subprioress from 1943-1951. She then returned to Clyde and was given charge of the Correspondence Department until 1954 when she was sent to San Diego as a pioneer member and became the first prioress of that community.

In 1956 she was elected to the General Council. Six years later she was elected Prioress General from 1962-1968, those difficult years of change and renewal in all religious communities in the post-Vatican II era. Being a woman of faith and trust, Mother M. Cecilia had the courage to make difficult decisions and sometimes had to endure the pain of being misunderstood when she wanted to lighten the workload of the Sisters and provide more time for prayer. The large farm and orchards were reduced in size, disposing of the dairy herds and the chickens. These major changes were not pleasing to everyone. When the foundation in St. Louis was completed, the Generalate, Novitiate and Postulants were moved from Clyde to the new St. Louis monastery. Another difficult change! 

After serving six years as Prioress General, Sr. M. Cecilia lived at our San Diego monastery from 1969 until 1992 when she moved to Tucson. In 1974 she resumed her baptismal name. Noble woman that she was, she maintained her gracious and loving manner throughout her retirement years. Sr. M. Claire truly lived the Eucharist and radiated a genuine spirit of thanksgiving to everyone for everything. Her joyful presence, seasoned with Irish wit and a delightful sense of humor, was a blessing in community.

With her physical strength and eyesight continuing to fail, Sr. M. Claire moved into St. Benedict Health Care community on January 16, 1994. With the assistance of magnifying glass and enlarged copies she continued to participate fully in the Liturgy. When she could no longer read, she heard Lauds and Vespers through the loudspeaker in her room and joined in prayer. At other times during the day she listened to cassette recordings of the monastic choir singing the Liturgy of the Hours. She was always grateful for the loving care she received and continued to delight both the sisters and the nursing staff with her gracious manner and wonderful sense of humor.

On April 10th, she celebrated and thoroughly enjoyed her 90th birthday, but on April 15th she suffered a slight stroke which affected her speech. On May 26th, her diamond jubilee of Profession was remembered at our Eucharistic liturgy and after Mass she became a gracious hostess seated in her wheelchair by a table in the Health Care Center where coffee and doughnuts were provided for all. On June 28th, Sr. M. Claire suffered another stroke which brought paralysis and further declining strength. It was apparent her death was near. Keeping vigil for our Sister was a small response to her life of self-giving. She died peacefully surrounded with grateful prayer.