It is with great sadness that Claudia’s family announces her passing in Eureka on Thursday, April 4, 2019 after suffering complications from kidney failure and pneumonia.

Claudia began life’s journey in 1946, born to Carolyn and George Barry in Oakland. She graduated from Piedmont High School and began working for UC Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. In 1972 she began a very successful career with the California Highway Patrol in San Francisco, Oakland and Vallejo. Over the course of a long and successful career, she over saw one of the most difficult transitions in CHP telecommunications. Transitioning communications personnel from manual to computerized dispatching. Her determination and commitment to making the process “user friendly” was unwavering. Needless to say, dispatchers today owe a debt of gratitude to the gazillion memos written and hundreds of meetings attended. She retired as a Communications Manager from the CHP, Golden Gate Communications Center in 1999 after 27 years.

Her life wasn’t all work and no play — quite the contrary. What kept her sane during those years was a love of humor and laughter in life, a good party, travel, and good looking men, especially those in uniform. So it was no surprise that in 1991 she married the love of her life, Walter, a motorcycle officer with the CHP. She thoroughly enjoyed telling him and other officers (they were all male in those days) where to go and what type of incidents to handle. For travel, she cruised through the Panama Canal, took a trip to Scotland and Germany, meeting with friends and looking for distant family members. Recently travel consisted of RV-ing cross country for family events and gatherings, and also, to meet RV friends for crabbing or fishing and fun along the California and Oregon coasts. She never wanted to be far away from the pacific coast, which she absolutely loved.

In retirement, she took the opportunity to pursue her love of “anything” medical. An ad in the local paper’s help wanted section was looking for citizen volunteers to work in the Humboldt County Coroner’s office. She applied and was accepted. She was proud of her work there and was loved by all. For many years she was an avid quilter and joined the local quilting society. She loved tending her heather plants, always giving them “haircuts” and fretting when Shelby (her beloved Australian Shepherd) would break a branch.

None of us will forget that even when she was seriously ill, her humor and love of good-looking men persisted. We always knew that would be the last thing to go and reveled when we heard these comments. And if you were lucky enough to get “the finger”, you could rest assured she was still with us.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to Amanda Poli for the care and compassion she showed to Claudia during her final days. Claudia’s eyes would light up and her smile would widen whenever Amanda arrived.

Parents, Carolyn and George Barry, preceded her in death. She is survived by her husband Walter F. Lesnick of almost 28 years, brother Douglas (Elizabeth Eder) Barry; nieces, Danielle Morley and Alana Barry; daughter-in-law Joanne Vital, and grandchildren, Zachary Lesnick and Alanah Lesnick. She also leaves behind many life long and more recent friends.

A celebration of her life will be announced at some time in the future. Donations can be made to the National Kidney Foundation in her name.

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