Clara May Rikard

Clara May Rikard, 78, passed from this life with a peaceful transition surrounded by her family on Thursday, May 25, 2023, in Sparks, Oklahoma.

Clara was born on August 26, 1944, in Sparks, to Thomas and Gertrude (Acord) Casteel. She attended Sparks schools through the 8th grade before attending and graduating from Chandler High School, Chandler, Oklahoma. A life-long resident of Sparks, Clara for a short time, resided in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Clara enjoyed Native American beadwork as a hobby. She was a respected elder and a very active member of the Sac and White River Bands, Chickamauga Cherokee.

Throughout her adult life, she traveled as a party planning consultant for Queensway Fashion, worked as a relief worker for the Sparks Post Office, and most recently, a secretary for Lincoln County Rural Water District #1. She also held a position on the White Dove Cemetery Board in Sparks. First and foremost, Clara was a homemaker and attended to her family.

Clara was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Gertrude Casteel; and two brothers, Thomas Casteel, and John Henry Casteel.

Those left to cherish her memory are her sons, Robert Robbins and his wife, Karen, and Billy Robbins and his wife, Kimberly; 14 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; as well as a host of other family members and friends.