ST. JOSEPH – Claud Melton "CM" Awalt, 74, passed away peacefully at home from a terminal illness at 8 p.m. Saturday (April 25, 2015) with his loving wife by his side.
The visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 29, at Freese Funeral Home, 302 E. Grand Ave., with a funeral service immediately following, with Pastor Dave Ashby officiating. Burial will be in Patterson Cemetery, St. Joseph.
Claud was born Dec. 31, 1940, in Omaha, Ill., to parents Claude and Inis Rister-Awalt.
He graduated from Norris City High School in 1959. At the age of 19, he joined the Air Force in August 1959 and was stationed in Blytheville, Ark., through August 1963.
While in the Air Force, he met and married his wife, Wanda Sue Hogue, on May 5, 1962. After the Air Force, they moved to Garland, Texas, in 1963, where he started his 32-year career with Kraft Foods.
He was transferred to the Kraft facility here in Champaign in 1971, retiring in 1996 as raw material manager.
Surviving him are his wife Sue of St. Joseph, daughter Robin Cruse (Roger) of Mahomet and his son, Scott Awalt of Rowlette, Texas; and his three sisters, Faye Swango of Indiana, Dorthy Johnston (Karl) of Tennessee and Juanita Short of Illinois. Also surviving are six grandchildren and two great-grandsons.
Preceding Claud in death were his parents and one sister.
Claud immensely enjoyed being surrounded by family and friends. He shared his passion for woodworking with others by making countless baby doll beds and barns for children he knew.
He spent much of the spring and summer working in his yard and garden. He took pride in sharing the bounties of his labor of love with neighbors and friends, and was best known for his annual crop of jalapenos and tomatoes.
He absolutely loved deer hunting, especially the sport of mounting his prize antler racks and deer heads. He also made unique knives from the antlers that he often gave as gifts and donated for charity.
When his children were young, he enjoyed fishing during summer family vacations in Wisconsin.
Claud will be missed dearly by his family and by all who knew him.
In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, please make donations to Red Cross or Carle Hospice, which are organizations both Claud and his wife supported.
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