Thea Korder Climo

October 20, 1924 - July 7, 2020

Thea Korder Climo, 95, died peacefully on July 7, 2020 at Heritage House in Santa Barbara. We are forever in their debt for the fine care she received over the many years she lived there. Funeral arrangements are private. Mrs. Climo was born Thea Hermine Korder on October 20, 1924 in West Hartford, Connecticut to Bertha and Walter O.R. Korder. Thea graduated in 1944 from Hilyer Junior College (now the University of Hartford) where she served as class president. She then attended the University of Connecticut where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, graduating in 1947. Following college, Thea worked for the Hartford Electric Light Company until her marriage to James Climo on June 4, 1949. After residing in Anaheim, California for a year, the couple returned to the Cleveland area where Jim had been born and raised. They spent the next 30 years living in Euclid, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland) where they raised two daughters and a son. A devoted wife and mother, Thea was also an excellent seamstress, fashioning many of her own and her children’s clothes and using her skills to accessorize her home. Jim and Thea relocated to Santa Barbara following Jim’s retirement in 1979. They quickly immersed themselves in the community, joining various organizations and giving their time for many worthwhile causes. Upon Jim’s passing in 2006, Thea continued living at home until moving to Heritage House in 2008. In addition to her husband, Thea was pre-deceased by her son, Ross. She is survived by her daughters Lynne Climo Finta (Husband, John and Son, James) and Beth Climo (Husband, Robert Bourgoin). She is also survived by her daughter-in-law Alma Climo (Daughter, Sirena Merritt; Son, Miles Merritt; and Daughter, Jade Climo). May she rest in peace.