Clare Walsh L’Esperance
New London — It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Clare Walsh L’Esperance, who died peacefully Jan. 28, 2020. The third of five daughters born to Agnes and Robert Walsh, Clare made her own arrival Aug. 17, 1941, in Teaneck, N.J. She graduated from Brick Township High School in 1959, and received a nursing degree from Holy Name Hospital School of Nursing in 1962.
Warm, caring, full of fun and humor, and gifted with a smile that could put anyone at ease, Clare set out for Washington, D.C., after nursing school to begin practicing her profession. While working at Georgetown University Hospital, she met her first husband, Dr. William Schmidt, who had come there from his home in Argentina for residency training. They married, and in 1964, Clare had her first child, a son named Charles.
In December 1964, the young family moved to Argentina by ship, and settled in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. Two more children were born there: first Jennifer, in 1965, and then Carol Stephanie (known since as Stephanie) in 1967.
The family moved back to Washington, D.C., in 1970, and then two years later, to New London. It was there that Clare raised her children in a beautiful house two blocks from Guthrie Beach. She still worked at nursing from time to time, caring for hospice patients.
In 2001, she married her second husband, William L’Esperance, who passed away in 2007.
Clare was devoted above all else to her son and two daughters, and we loved her equally in return. She was loyal, and kind, and could spot disingenuous behavior from a mile away. She was the person we could always turn to in tough times, always ready to listen, always ready to give her perceptive advice. She loved her sisters, and their families and her many friends, and enjoyed nothing more in her later years than chatting with them all on the phone. We will all miss her every day. We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the staff who cared for her at Harbor Village Nursing Home and at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.
She is survived by her children, Charles William Schmidt, Jennifer Anne Martley, and Carol Stephanie Schmidt; her son-in-law Bill Martley; her grandchildren: Guthrie Belfiglio, Perry Belfiglio, Jack Glenn, Katherine Glenn and Liam Martley; her sisters: Mary Jane McCarthy, Susan Zielinski, Anne Adelgais and Helen Walsh; and their spouses, children and grandchildren; her first husband William Schmidt; and her best friend, Jane Sprafke.
Funeral services are at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at St. Joseph’s Church in New London, followed by a burial at Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 149 Montauk Ave., New London, CT 06320.