Mrs. Clara Ellen Kemp Strickland, 54, passed away on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at her home in Belews Creek, NC.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, May 3, 2013 at the Follis and Sons Funeral Home in Fredericktown with the Rev. Robert Graham officiating. Visitation will at 10:00 a.m. and the service will follow at 11:00 a.m.

A native of Fredericktown, Missouri, Clara was born on July 30, 1958, the daughter of Anson Wilbur "Peanuts" Parsons and Thelma Davette Wilson Parsons. She was a veteran of the U.S. Army and worked as a veterinary assistant at both the Raeford Animal Clinic in Raeford, NC and the North Elm Clinic in Greensboro, NC.

Surviving are her husband, Victor Carl Strickland, a son Douglas Keith Kemp and his wife Tasha Kemp both of Sellersville, PA; granddaughter Fallon Rose Kemp; two step-daughters both of Louisiana, Ashton Lee Strickland and Shelby Strickland; a brother David Parsons of Fredericktown, and a friend/adopted sister Sheila R Harper Hendee of Estes Park, Colorado; 3 nephews David Benjamin Parsons, Adam Christopher Parsons, and Robert George IV and one niece, Sarah E. Milburn. Clara was also survived by her beloved in-laws, Marietta Wise, Hank and Janette Strickland, Diane and Roger Thorpe and Carl and Cindy Strickland and their families.

Clara is preceded in death by her father A.W. "Peanuts" Parsons, her mother, Thelma D. Parsons, her first husband, Lindell Kemp, and her mother-in-law, Lena Kemp.

She was a proud veteran of the U.S. Army and served along with her husband Victor Strickland. She loved animals, crocheting, reading, and was constant and selfless in her pursuit to help others.