A graveside memorial service was held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Oakwood Cemetery in Winona for Claire Allen Gaines, 79, who departed life on this earth to be with her Heavenly Father on Thursday, Jan. 30. The Rev. Philip McRae officiated.
Claire was born on May 25, 1945, in Winona, the daughter of the late James E. “Buddy” and the late Susan Chambless Allen. She shared her childhood with her sister, Jane Allen Parks.
Claire taught dancing for the Susan Allen School of Dance for 50 years. She graduated from Winona High School and the University of Mississippi, and was an avid Ole Miss football fan. She was a communicant of Shongalo Presbyterian Church in Vaiden and a lifetime member of First Presbyterian Church of Winona. Claire was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She was a charter member of Hillfire and a member of Dance Teachers United where she served on the board of directors. Claire also enjoyed membership in the Winona Garden Club.
In addition to her church and community service, Claire enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. She loved her role as Mimi and attended sporting events, dance recitals and learned all about video games from her grandchildren. Claire and her late husband, Wayne, enjoyed attending many community events, from plays to football games. On Fall Saturdays, Claire could always be found watching Ole Miss football with her family, usually sitting in the same chair for good luck. She truly was a patron of the arts, which is evident in all the young girls in whom she instilled the love of dance.
Claire continued the Susan Allen School of Dance legacy that her mother, Susan Allen, began. Her girls all called her “Miss Claire,” and they will always enjoy telling dance stories with some of them teaching dance themselves. Claire was the proudest of her two daughters, Ashley and Heather. She enjoyed spending time with them whether it was at a dance recital, a play at the Orpheum or shopping around town.
In addition to her parents, her husband, Wayne Gaines; maternal grandparents, George W. and Hattie Aron Chambless, and paternal grandparents, John Edward and Myrtle Branch Allen, preceded Claire in death.
Survivors include, her daughters, Ashley Gaines Bauch (Stephen) of Germantown, Tenn., and Heather Gaines Rodgers (Stan) of Winona; sister, Jane Allen Parks (Herb) of Grenada; stepsons, Todd Townes (Krista) of Alpharetta, Ga., and Blake Townes of Grenada; brother-in-law, Bill Gaines (Jan) of Georgia; her grandchildren, Jackson Bauch, Kate Bauch, Ella Bauch and Reed Bauch, all of Germantown, Tenn., Gaines Rodgers of Winona and Price Townes and Parker Townes, both of Alpharetta, Ga., and her nephews, Derek May (Brenda) of Germantown, Tenn., Edward May (Christina) of Germantown, Tenn., Aaron Gaines (Lauren) and Matt Gaines, all of Atlanta, Ga.
Claire wishes to send special thanks to Belinda Anderson, Shirley Wilhite, all the nurses at Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital and JoBeth King, who provided wonderful care.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be directed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 or online at www.stjude.org/donate
Online condolences can be expressed to the family at www.ofhwinona.com
Oliver Funeral Home of Winona was in charge of arrangements.
