Claudette Tuten

On Friday morning, December 30, 2022, Claudette Tuten went home to be with her Savior, Jesus Christ. Claudette had been lovingly cared for at home by her family up to the final few days of her life. She died while under intensive care provided by Delaware Hospice in Milford. In her passing, Claudette joined her devoted husband of over 63 years, George W. Tuten Jr., who had passed only ten days earlier. His memorial service was underway when the family received the news of Claudette’s passing. Claudette was born on Wednesday, July 17, 1940, in Franklin, North Carolina. She was the youngest of three siblings born to Ward E. McNeal and Katie Burrell McNeal. She was preceded in death by her sister, Flo Buckner of Asheville, North Carolina. She is survived by her brother, Ward E. McNeal Jr. (Buddy) and his wife, Shirley, who currently reside in Humble, Texas. Claudette is further survived by two sons: George W. Tuten III (wife Cindy) and Glenn A. Tuten (wife Julie); 6 grandchildren: Daniel (fiancée Kimberly Trala), Joshua, Nichole (husband Kevin Wright), Amanda (husband Kenneth Ewer), Krysta (husband Paul Flores), and Micah (wife Kellie); 9 great grandchildren: Anderson, Jacob, Ethan, Eli, Brody, Judah, Benjamin, Eliana, and Maverick; and 2 step great grandchildren: Jacob Trala and Joshua Trala. Nichole and Kevin are expecting a baby in April. Claudette was a devoted wife and mother who was greatly beloved by her two sons. She was a stay-at-home mother until the boys started school but then began the first of many jobs she would work in order to help make ends meet for her young family. Those jobs included driving a school bus and serving in a Christian school cafeteria. She was also a talented salesperson who honed her selling skills with Avon and Tupperware in-home sales. Before landing in a career position as a real-estate broker which she and her husband developed together under the brand “The Tuten Team” and successfully operated for over 45 years, she and George even had a brief stint with Primerica Life Insurance. Claudette was a woman of strong character forged through perseverance of great challenges which would have broken most people. Her mother left her at the age of one and went to the west coast where she remained for nearly twenty years. However, Claudette’s grandparents refused to place her and her siblings in foster care choosing rather to raise them as their own. Claudette also had an unusual experience of needing dentures by the time she was in sixth grade and went without any teeth in her mouth for a solid year before getting the teeth that would come to define her beautiful and radiant smile. Claudette ended her high school years at a Presbyterian boarding school in Georgia called Rabun Gap. Providentially, it was there that she roomed with a young lady named Sue Ann who was a relative of one George W. Tuten. After several failed attempts at getting them together, they finally did meet face to face. He was 21 and she was 19 and as George loved to say at this point in their story: “The rest is history”. Claudette and George were married on July 18th in 1959 and resided in Savannah, Georgia where both of their sons were born. In 1966, George moved his family north to the small state of Delaware to resume his career as a typesetter for the Wilmington News Journal. They would live in Delaware until their recent passing. Though she was exposed to the scriptures as a child, it would not be until her late 20’s that she would fully place her faith in Jesus Christ and receive His gift of eternal life. Claudette’s favorite verses were Proverbs 3:5,6; “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all Thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.” Her powerful faith was clearly evident to the end of her life and will be her greatest legacy for those who knew her best. A visitation will be held Friday, January 6, 2023. from 9:30-11 AM at Middletown Baptist Church at 419 Armstrong Corner Rd., Middletown, DE 19709.followed by a service in celebration of Claudette’s life at 11 AM. Burial will follow at Gracelawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Claudette to Middletown Baptist Church. For directions or to send an online condolence visit www.stranofeeley.com

Claudette Tuten

July 17, 1940 - December 30, 2022

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