CLEMMIE MADELYN CROFT
|
|
Born: September 24, 1898 - Pasco Co.,FL Died: April 26, 1982 Married: Walter H. Berg |
Clemmie Madelyn Croft attended schools in Dade City, then the Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee (now Florida State University). Returning to Dade City, she taught in a rural one-room school east of Dade City in a community called Darby. She had to drive a horse and buggy out there every day. Not happy with that situation as a profession, she moved to Tampa and got a job clerking in the office of O'Berry & Hall Co., a wholesale grocer. It was there that she met Walter Berg.
They were married in Sanford, Florida after a courtship that was delayed by his long bout with tuberculosis. They kept the marriage secret for over a year because of a company policy prohibiting the employment of both marriage partners. When they did reveal their marriage, the both left O'Berry's and moved to Orlando where they bought a small grocery store and service station. They lived in an apartment above the store. This was at the depth of the Great Depression. It was there that their only son, WalterH.Berg, Jr. was born.
Unable to afford a good doctor, she was injured in the difficult birth and rendered unable to have any more children. When the grocery store failed, they returned to Tampa. Walter got his old job back at O'Berry. Years later when he retired, Clemmie went back to school to update her clerical skills. She found a job with Mack Truck Company in Tampa. When the Interstate Highway system took their home on Frierson Avenue for right-of-way, they moved to Brandon, Florida and built a new home in 1963.
Clemmie had dark brown eyes and was 4'11" tall, but she made up for her shortness in stature by her strength of character. She was a devoted mother and a devout Christian, active in several Baptist churches. She served as Church Librarian at Seminole Heights Baptist Church in Tampa for several years, and she sang in the church choir. Her favorite hymn was The Old Rugged Cross. She was a good cook and did most of her own sewing. She knew how to cook southern style before she was married, then learned how to cook many German dishes from her mother-in-law, Augusta (Jox) Berg.
Clemmie survived her husband by almost thirteen years, but the last five were extremely difficult. She developed Parkinson's Disease and, although her mind remained sharp until the end, she slowly lost control of her body. She died in a nursing home in Tampa. She and Walter are buried in the Berg family plot at Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Tampa.