Claus L Von Glahn

Published 11:42 am Thursday, December 14, 2017

Claus L. Von Glahn of Columbus, N.C. went home to be with his heavenly family on December 11, 2017 after battling dementia for several years. He was the last surviving member of his generation in his family.

Formerly of Holtsville, N.Y., he was born on May 30, 1924 in Queens, N.Y. to Henry and Anna Neitman Von Glahn. He was predeceased by his wife of 64 years, Dorothy, and by brothers Henry and Lindy and his sister, Anna. He was “Daddy” to Patricia Von Glahn and Debra Monahan(Marty). He was also Grandpa to Joel Picher(Melissa), Jason Picher(Katie), Kate Monahan, Jonathan Picher(Jennifer) and Martin Monahan. He is also survived by step great grandchildren Alek, Gavin, Garrett and Addison Robinson and great grandson Noah Henry Picher. And also several nieces, great nieces and nephews and great nephews.

Claus joined the Army Air Corps in November of 1942. He served in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska for the duration of the war. After discharge from the service he signed on as a merchant marine radar man on a troopship and made several trips across the Atlantic to Germany. He came home to Queens after that and he and his brother bought brand new motorcycles. They started riding with a group of guys and one of those guys had a pretty sister. He married Dorothy in 1949. They moved to Holtsville out on Long Island. In 1951 he got a job with Grumman Aerospace. He worked for them for 35 years as a support engineer. He worked on the Lunar Module project and on several projects involving planes that were built for the Navy. He retired in 1984 but continued to work for Grumman as a contracted employee.

He and Dorothy moved to Columbus in 1989. He was a member of the VFW, the American Legion and worked with the original House of Flags. He bowled with the Carolina Keglers. During his lifetime he built a boat, a camper, a garage, a breezeway, several porches, decks and patios and at the age of 85, he built a 12 x 16 shed single handedly. And if there was electrical power running through it, he could fix it.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in his memory to either The Wounded Warrior Project (support.woundedwarriorproject.org) or Bright Focus Foundation (support.brightfocusfoundation.org.)

The family would like to thank the wonderful staff of Laurel Woods who cared for him for the past 3 ½ years. Thank you also to the nursing staff of Hospice of the Carolina Foothills especially Jane Foster and his personal CNAs.

There will be a remembrance gathering at Petty Funeral Home in Landrum on December 27, 2017 at 2 p.m. Please join us and bring a memory to share.

Condolences may be left at www.pettyfuneralhome.com.

Petty Funeral Home & Crematory
Landrum, S.C.