Clara Pauline (Rogstad) Lapham died peacefully on March 16, 2013, at Tacoma General Hospital at the age of 86 of complications from multiple myeloma. Clara was born July 3, 1926, in Stanley, North Dakota. As a teenager, and upon the early deaths of her parents, Peter and Karen Rogstad, she and her sisters left North Dakota to find work in Washington State.
It was here that she met the love of her life Ralph Lapham. They were married on April 13, 1945, and remained so until Ralph’s death on February 10, 1996. Clara was a woman of incredible character and faith; she had the heart of a saint and was loved by anyone who spent more than a minute in her presence. Clara was employed by Albertsons for 35 years before retiring in 1988. She was very active and loved the out-of-doors, and right up to the end could be seen out walking along the beach in Ocean Shores where she had lived for the past 40 years. When Ralph was alive they loved to camp and fish; earlier in their lives they both were competitive archers.