Clarisse V. Apel

Clarisse Valerie Apel passed away Saturday at 11:25 p.m., December 1, 2018 at the Central Wyoming Hospice Home in Casper, WY.

Clarisse was born September 3rd 1955, in Seattle, Washington to Edith and John Gallegos

She graduated from Jefferson H.S. in 1973. She shared some memories of her high school white water rafting trip down the Colorado River. She was so "green" at camping that one of the teachers asked her to go get the "wind shifter" from the other campfire so they could shift the wind the other direction. She was sent from campfire to campfire to no avail. But she always was a good sport.

After her sister, Juli graduated from Jefferson H.S. in 1979, Clare took her on a vacation to Mazatlan, Mexico. They ate exotic food, drank beer & wine, stuck their toes in the sand and water on the Pacific coast. Exploring they ended up in a bar on the wrong side of town which led to an adventure with Isadoro & Ricardo, who befriended them, at the local bullfights.

She graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with bachelor's degree in elementary education. She taught for many years in Jefferson County schools.

During that time she married Alan A. Apel, a long time acquaintance from college. They traveled through out Europe and were wed in Gretna Green, Scotland partly because Clare loved historical romances. It just so happened that it was the same day as Prince Charles and Princess Diana married. She traveled to Austria to see where her maternal grandparents had lived before they immigrated to the United States in a village high on a mountain side near the Italian border. They saw Greece, Germany and several other places over the years. She liked taking photographs, loved art in it's many forms and music played a big role in her life.

She was divorced about 1985 and returned home from California. Later she moved to Wyoming where Juli and Clare found time to go on another trip together to Seattle, Washington in 1997. They stayed in a bed & breakfast over looking the Puget Sound. Boarding a ferry to the San Juan Islands and took a wild ride around the island on scooters; ending at quaint restaurant where they tasted different types of brandy with several types of chocolate that blended together for a new treat.

Clare began to have mental struggles in her later years and physical challenges with her emphysema and C.O.P.D. Like everything in her life, there were many trials and tribulations but she worked hard, played hard, and fought to the very end. We love her very much and we were glad to see peace on her face when she left this earth.

Clarisse is survived by her 3 siblings, Juli (Gallegos)Groves, Debi (Gallegos)Barbich, & Rodney Gallegos. She has 5 nephews & nieces (Tyson Barbich, Jonathan Gallegos, Riki (Barbich) Cash, Christina Gallegos, & Sydney Groves. There are 4 grand nieces & grand nephews; Katerina & Logan Barbich, Jade & Justin Cash.

She was proceeded in death by her parents.

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