Locals in the Limelight; Clarene Haynie

By KATHY TAYLOR

I arrived at the tidy home of Clarene Haynie and we immediately got into a discussion of the huge creek fire that had once raged outside her residence while she was blissfully sitting on her sofa (probably knitting), completely unaware until a neighbor phoned her.

She is a woman who can find humor in almost any situation, even a fire. Despite life's ups and downs, she considers herself blessed and happy. It is difficult to leave her presence without feeling the same way yourself. Fiercely independent, there isn't much that slows this woman down. She is a dynamo, loves to travel and give back to the community she feels has given her so much in return.

Clarene Adele Haynie was born May 29, 1940, in Portland, Ore. to Clarence and Madrene Fiscus. Clarence was a barber and Madrene a beautician. An only child, she developed her love of cats and had a beautiful head of long hair that her mother would braid for her. She did not get her first hair cut until age 11. She graduated from Grant High School in Portland and spent the next 11 years in D.C. working for the federal government in railroad regulation.

In 1960, she married Thomas (Jack) Weaver who worked for Judd and Detweiler (printing company for National Geographic Magazine). The couple was active in the folk music scene on the east coast. He played guitar and banjo, she clapped and sang along. They were also race officials for the Sports Car Club of America. Their son Kenneth was born in 1969 and Clarene became a stay-at-home mom. In 1975, the marriage ended and she went to work in downtown D.C. for a trade association of member high technology equipment distributors. She enjoyed the travel opportunities that the job provided.

During that time, she joined the group Parents without Partners. It was there that she met Robert (Bob) Haynie, a quiet, humble Navy man stationed in D.C. who was from Davenport, Wash. He was skilled in electronics and traveled the world in a classified position. In November, 1980, they married and loaded up her blue 1974 Pinto station wagon with two cats, a kid and snow tires strapped to the top and drove to Odessa. She chuckled and told me "that was our honeymoon!" They registered Kenny in school in Odessa when he was in the sixth grade.

The family settled in Odessa and Bob worked for his brother-in-law, Don Wacker. They lived in the Finkbeiner home west of Odessa. They farmed the Finkbeiner ground until 1991 when the Wacker family decided to quit farming and sold their holdings. Clarene and Bob bought their current residence in town by the creek. Clarene would jokingly tell Bob "I married you for better or worse, but not for lunch," so he went to work for the Lincoln County Weed board which he really enjoyed. Three years later, he was hired by the Bureau of Land Management and covered the eastern half of the state. Much like his wife, he loved the outdoors and traveling.

In the mid 90s, Bob and Clarene became snowbirds, traveling back and forth between Odessa and Yuma, Ariz. Two of Bob's sisters (Jan and Haroldine) resided there. Each year, they would spend about five-and-a-half months there and return home for Bob's seasonal weed job. They joined a treasure hunters club and had numerous adventures with their metal detector. In Yuma, they volunteered for Greater Foothills Helping Hands, an organization that offered services for senior citizens who couldn't afford them. Bob found himself in many positions of leadership on clubs and boards. As Clarene explained, he was extremely reliable and organized, largely due to his military background. People could count on him and he never divulged any secrets. As his mother said "Bob keeps his own council."

For over 10 years of their marriage, the couple shared a love of square dancing and belonged to several clubs. She fondly remembers dancing on the Connollys' hay trailer which would ride through parades in Odessa, Lind and Ritzville. When I told her I couldn't imagine dancing like that, let alone on a moving vehicle, she laughed and said "the driver went REALLY slow!" Other than square dancing, Bob didn't care for dancing but he would always dance the last dance with his wife.

The man whom Clarene described as "loving and giving," died suddenly on December 7, 2004, from a fatal heart attack while sitting in his recliner in Yuma working on paperwork for one of his volunteer positions. Bob died on a Tuesday and in true Clarene fashion, she showed up with her son, Ken, to the breakfast buffet on Thursday that she and Bob would attend weekly with the 30-40 members of the Holiday Rambler R.V. Club. One of their dearest friends, Ralph Kraus, ran up and hugged her saying "I knew you would be here."

The club mobilized the troops and took care of the arrangements for the memorial service which was held in a standing room only facility with a beautiful view of Bob's beloved Gila mountains. Bob had been a cookie lover, had them every night with milk at bedtime. Eight people assigned to bring cookies to the memorial service were advised by the club leaders "Bob will have no store bought cookies!" Many people shared stories and memories of their friend, and the Haynie and Weaver children gave beautiful tributes. Clarene spoke last and shared a favorite story of the time her husband (who hated shopping) actually suggested they go to Walmart on Black Friday to buy a set of cookware on sale that she had wanted. When a rude woman pushed ahead of them in a checkout line that had just opened, Bob removed his two items from the belt, stood back and started assisting the woman with her items. All of a sudden, the man of few words said "Huh....a vacuum cleaner. The old witch must have broke her broom!" The woman's husband even let out a snort of laughter. As Clarene finished her story, the whole room went quiet and then burst out in laughter, just the way Bob Haynie would have wanted it.

Although having suffered the devastating, sudden loss of her husband, Clarene decided to plow through her grief and to help others whenever possible. Since she has been single, she decided to start attending church and doing numerous volunteer activities for organizations around Odessa. She started with the HOSTS reading program while her son was in school and now assists with church-related missions. Her mother who was very skilled, taught her to sew, knit and crochet. She also enjoys machine- knitting and has made countless hats and such for charities such as "Operation Christmas Child" and a crisis house in Spokane. Bob had affectionately named her workroom "The Rat's Nest," and she is sure he visited her after his death, leaning in the doorway on one elbow and asking her "What are ya buildin' now?"

Not wanting to give up her lifestyle, Clarene continued to caravan to Yuma with some close women friends for about five years after Bob's death. In her signature "portable palace," a 36' motorhome with a slide-out, she would hitch up her blue C.R.V. behind it and make her journey. She has discovered a love for cruise ships and has been on six cruises so far, including Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, New England color, Hawaii and Spain. She says she has several "shortfatgrayhairedoltravelin buddies" to share in the fun. She also spent a month in Western Europe with son Tim visiting the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium and England.

We talked extensively about the loss of her beloved cat Tipper about four years ago. She was 14 years old (they got her as a kitten), and she fondly remembers how her husband, who wasn't a cat guy, grew to love her, too. Tipper was "the lump under the bedspread," and loved to sit in the windowsill to watch birds. She went missing for about three weeks and was found in a neighbor's flowerbed, where she had apparently laid after being injured, possibly by a car. Clarene lovingly painted a ceramic cat urn for her ashes which sits in Tipper's favorite window. She hasn't gotten another cat but is open to it at some point. Clarene does everything on her terms. After my prodding, I realized that she will know when it is the right time, and the right cat.

Clarene Haynie is so grateful to her close friends (her angels) and Pastor Jon Hayashi who have stood by her with love and support. She has a wonderful extended family. Her son, Ken, lives in Woodinville and sells security software. He has a son Trey who is 11. Bob brought three children to their marriage. Her son, Chris, is a para-educator for the Mead school district. He is married to Kris and they have two children, Nicholas 13 and Allison 11. Her second son Tim is retired from the Air Force and lives in the Netherlands with his wife Sharon and their three children, Thomas, 23, Carolyn, 19, and Michelle, 18, who all attend college in Florida. Daughter Kelly works for the city of Poulsbo, Wash. and her husband Shawn is with the Poulsbo Police Dept. They have a son A.J. (pre-med at Gonzaga) and Logan, 12.

Clarene is a tough cookie, a breast cancer survivor who had a successful, alternative radiation treatment in 2007. She shared her story in a speech at the local Ladies Health Night banquet in Odessa. Last year, she flew back to Yuma to visit some old friends who of course teased her and asked if she had found a boyfriend yet. One of them lamented "I know...Bob is a hard act to follow." She explained to him, "When we were young, we had to get approval from our parents about who we dated. Now, later in life, we have to get approval from kids and friends. Given that I'm too busy to have to go looking for a suitable match, those kids and friends need to do that for me. So far, they haven't done a very good job!" With her razor sharp wit and a twinkle in her eye, she is one of the few women I know that can render a full-grown man speechless.