Clarice Tobin
Clarice’ funeral will be held on Thursday, March 5 at 11:30 am at St. Francis of Assisi.
On February 13, 2026 Heaven gained a force of nature with our mother, Clarice Tobin, at the age of 89. There she will join her parents, her cherished sister & brother- in- law, Rita & Mike Hajovsky, and many of her lifelong special friends.
Clarice was born to Frank & Clara Kainer Lebeda on September 3, 1936 in the small Texas town of Weimar where she was raised. She along with her sister spent many hours working at the family's popular cafe. Upon graduating high school, she moved to Austin to attend business school. It was there that she met our father at a church dance. She would often make a point to tell us that she “met all her boyfriends while dancing."
The majority of her work career was with St. Paul Insurance and later with the San Antonio Water System both from which she still kept in touch with many of those beloved co-workers. However, her most important job was raising her three children which she did meticulously as a single mother. She would often brag that she was fortunate to have good kids. As her children, we will say we were too afraid to entertain any other options.
Clarice was a very strong willed, independent woman who took care of everything with a preciseness and attention to detail that was unsurpassed. When she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December of 2023, she waived it off saying that she did not have time for cancer as she still had to get ready for Christmas. Her sheer determination to take care of her to-do list probably carried her this far. Even while using a walker and many times connected to a chemo pump at home, she was an obsessive house cleaner and was always cooking. She would have been appalled to attend any event without first asking, “What can I bring?”
Our Mom loved Longhorn, UTSA and Dallas Cowboy football, Dixieland jazz, and all things blue. She would never turn down an opportunity to attend or host a party! Her energy and spirit will live on in all of us: Children - Kathy Duke and husband Paul; Terri Sinclair and husband Bob; Patrick Tobin and wife Carolina Boyd; Her cherished Grandchildren – Garrett Duke; Dillon Duke and his wife, Nicole; Hannah Meggett and her husband, Joshua; and Matthew Sinclair; and Great Grandchildren – Ava and Lucy Duke and her soon to be born great-grandson.
A celebration of her life will be held Wednesday, March 4, 2026 with a visitation at 6pm followed by the reciting of the rosary at 7p.m. Her funeral Mass will be on Thursday, March 5th, 2026 at 11:30 a.m., both at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 4201 De Zavala Road. She will be buried at a family graveside service in Weimar at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her honor be made to her home parish: St Anthony Catholic Church at UTSA.