Claude Canfield ’62 died Jan. 19.
Canfield died Jan. 19. Claude was born on Aug. 9, 1938, in Spokane, Wash., where he grew up and graduated high school. Claude often remarked how great it was to be a kid in Spokane. Claude attended Pacific Lutheran University for his bachelor’s degree and met his wife, Deanna (Dirlam) Canfield ’62, in chapel. Claude and Deanna were married on May 15, 1960, in Deanna’s hometown of Eugene, Ore. The young Canfield family was brought to Boise, Idaho, when Claude was hired as a speech pathologist at the Elks Rehabilitation Hospital after earning a master’s degree from the University of Oregon. After a storied career at the Elks, Claude retired in the late ’90s. Upon retiring, he enjoyed biking, fishing and golfing, which he would do with his sons, Randy and Rick. Though a stoic man in nature, Claude was an ever-present figure in the lives of his sons and their families. At family gatherings, Claude was always sure to ask about the studies of the grandchildren, making sure they were learning well. Despite his stoicism, Claude had an incredible sense of humor. With some encouragement he would easily brighten the room with a joke or some wild-haired story that he would tell with such honesty that it sounded true, but a twinkle in his eye would reveal, albeit too late, it was all malarkey. He even had his sons believing for years that they were Spokane Indians. It is that sense of humor and quiet watchfulness that has been woven into the fabric of the Canfield family. Claude is survived by his wife, Deanna; his sons, Randy and Rick; his bossy daughter-in-law (as he fondly called her), Karen; his grandchildren, Christopher, Tyler, Nicholas, Kayla and Abigail; as well as his siblings, Richard Canfield and Nancy Beard.
