Memorial services are to be hold Monday, October 2, 7:30 at
St. John Lutheran Church for Claudia Jean (Bently) Haberkorn who died Wednesday,
September 27, of ovarian cancer. After surgery and chemotherapy in 1997,
she was in remission for several months before the disease returned.
Born in Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania on April 3,1935, Mrs. Haberkorn was
the only child of William and Dorothy E. (Jeans) Bentley.She graduated
from Shinglehouse High School in 1953 and attended Wheaton College in Wheaton.
Illinois, before transferring to State University of New York at Buffalo.
After earning her degree in education, she began teaching in 1961 at
Catskill, New York, for a year, followed by a year at Belmont, New York.
Thereafter residing in Olean, New York. In 1964 she began teaching at Allegany
Central School in adjacent Allegany, New York, with students following
her leadership in sociology and nutrition. She was forced into disability
retirement in 1985 due to a back injury suffered at school.
During her undergraduate work in Illinois and New York, Mrs. Haberkorn
did volunteer social work with unwed mothers’ homes
in Chicago. In Buffalo she did similar work through various settlement
houses with abused and neglected children. She also counseled with teenage
girls’ gangs for the Police Athletic League. During summer vacations in
the 1970’s, she worked with abused children in Buffalo, creating an enrichment
program. She also worked for the spouse abuse organization in Buffalo in
the area of housing for victims of abuse. After moving to Winter Park in
1994, she did volunteer work at the Orlando Court House in counseling and
issuing injunctions in behalf of victims of spouse abuse.
On June 17, 1995, she was united in marriage with Theodore E. Haberkorn
of Winter Park who survives,
During her teaching years with Allegany high school students, Mrs. Haberkorn
became known affectionately as "Miss B." The most effective source of comfort
in coping with cancer in her last two years of life came from letters,
telephone calls, daily e-mail, gifts of homemade food, flowers and memorabilia.
These responses from students with whom she had not been in contact for
many years were the result of a story by columnist Beth Eberth in the Olean
Times-Herald. A recurring thought in the messages was: "Miss B, I will
never forget that you were always there when I needed someone to talk to."
It would be remiss to fail to give recognition to the most comforting
element in her fight against cancer, That element is the loyal devotion
shown by Teddy, the couples Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He was her constant
companion through the many months of pain and discomfort and insisted on
lying at her side when she became bedfast. Even the nurses prepared his
usual place for him, recognizing the comfort he gave his mistress. She
firmly believed ‘he is an angel sent by God.’
Following the memorial service at Winter Park, a final service will
be held at Olean, New York, with interment at Allegany Cemetery.
POSTED IN ORLANDO SENTINAL OCT 01, 2000
