INDIANOLA -- Clara A. Ledbetter, 83, of Indianola died Monday (April 23, 2007) in Kearney.

She was born Oct. 10, 1923, in Bakersfield, Calif., to Benjamin and Nellie (Johnson) Alston. She grew up in Oroville, Calif.

She married Rush E. Ledbetter on Nov. 8, 1941, in Petaluma, Calif. He was a career airman with the U.S. Air Force. They moved frequently and lived in California, Texas, Alabama and the United Kingdom. They moved to a small acreage in Grants Pass, Ore., where she lived up until the last three weeks of her life.

She was a master gardener and delighted friends and family with her artistic floral designs.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Benjamin and Nellie (Johnson) Alston and husband, Rush Ledbetter in 1983.

Survivors include her daughter, Clara Dunn and husband, Harvey of Indianola, Carol Sorensen and husband, Thomas of Aloha, Ore., Barbara Scott and husband, Daley of Grants Pass, Ore.; special friend, Paul Gilbert; nine grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

She was dearly loved by family and friends and will be greatly missed.

A memorial service and inurment will be at a later date in Grants Pass, Ore. Her body was cremated.