of Little Rock, AR

September 13, 1940 - September 26, 2023

It is with both sorrow and hope-filled love that we announce the passing of Mrs. Anita ''Clarice'' Nelson Cassada, 83, on September 26, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has left her earthly home for her Heavenly home. A memorial service will be held in Amarillo, Texas on Saturday, December 16th at The Resplendent Garden, 11701 Truman Street. There will be a time of food, beverages, and fellowship beginning at 4 p.m. and the memorial will begin at 5 p.m. All who knew and loved Clarice and her husband Howard are invited to attend.

Our Clarice was a beautiful, gracious, wise, courageous and determined woman. She was born on September 13, 1940 in Fort Towson, Oklahoma to Leta Crawford Nelson Perrin Nowell and Clarence Nelson, and grew up in Wright City, Oklahoma. She married Dr. Howard Powers Cassada in Amarillo on December 22, 1962 and were married 59.75 years before his death in 2022. She was also preceded in death by her beloved grandmother Sarah Rose Crawford, her parents Leta Nowell and Clarence Nelson, Uncle Horace Nelson, stepfather Drummond Perrin, brothers Mitchell and Raymond Perrin, and Thomas Nelson, sister Cretia Perrin, and nephew Franklin ''Frank'' Covington.

After graduating from high school, she moved to Burkburnett, Texas to work and live with cousins Robbie and Margeret Williams and their family, whom she dearly loved. In 1960 she moved to Amarillo where she took vocational courses to become a dental assistant, and worked for Dr. Foy Shackleford. It was during this time that she first met a handsome young Dentist, Dr. Howard Cassada, who she happened to have been getting some flirtatious looks from at a Pizza parlor the evening before! And thus, their over 60 year romance began.

[[]And, dear reader, it must be mentioned that early in her Amarillo years Clarice jumped out of a perfectly good airplane - parachute attached - and landed safely on the Panhandle soil, along with her roommate and maid of honor Jean Hudson Fillpot. She only did this once, however!]

After marrying in 1962, Clarice and Howard spent the next four decades in Amarillo, building his dental practice and raising their daughters, Lori and Dena. These were busy years: she was office manager for the dental practice, worked part-time as a building contractor, and completed an associate degree in photography (a life-long passion) at Amarillo College. She also volunteered for the American Dental Auxiliary Association (including serving as president in 1972), the Symphony Guild, the American Diabetes Association, and served in the PTA and as a member of the Bushland School Board. Howard believed deeply in Clarice, encouraging and supporting her in all her endeavors.

Clarice was also deeply invested in her church family at Paramount Terrace Christian Church. This began soon after the family joined in the mid-1960's, where she established a new curriculum for the preschool Sunday school, and continued for many years as a Sunday school teacher and volunteer. Clarice and Howard together taught and led for many years a new adult Sunday School class the Searchers. She later took a keen interest in mentoring and helping young mothers during their early years of raising children.

Clarice's love for God and her passion for the church and helping others ultimately led her to complete her bachelor's and master's degrees in counseling and psychology at WTAMU. She then began a new late-in-life career as Director of Women's Ministry at Paramount Terrace. When she began there were 3 Bible studies offered on the same subject with 60 women attending; when she retired 13 years later there were 20 Bible studies on various topics each semester, attended by as many as 600 women. She also began the Stephen Ministry, MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Ministry, and helped in the early stages of the Sharing Hope Ministry, an outreach to at-risk and incarcerated women.

The ripple effect of Clarice's years in ministry still continues today. It continues to inspire others in their faith, and has literally changed the trajectory of many lives in deep, transformative, and healing ways - breaking chains of destruction and opening doors to a freedom that only Jesus can provide.

In 2006, Clarice and Howard moved to Jackson, Tennessee to be closer to their children and grandchildren, who lived in Nashville and Little Rock. Howard and Clarice attended the First United Methodist Church, where they made new dear friends and Clarice continued to use her gifts helping others to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus. It was here that she was diagnosed with (and treated for) stage four cancer, which she thankfully survived, and although it was a very difficult experience, she believed it was one that God used to change and free her in ways she would have never been able to otherwise. In June of 2020 she and Howard moved to a retirement community in Little Rock.

Clarice is survived by her two children: Lori Roberts and husband Kent; and Dena Comden and husband Mark. Known as ''Nana'' (and often ''Nana-banana!'') she is also survived by six grandchildren she loved with all her heart: Greer, Ben, and Katy Roberts; and Nathan, Reece, and Curry Comden. She is also survived by her sister (and truly her heart-and-soul friend) Pauline Perrin Lovelace; brother Herbert Perrin; stepbrother Steven Nelson; many treasured and beloved nephews and nieces; and many dear friends around the country.

Clarice knew that God could take anything in her life and make it holy ground to bring about growth, deeper understanding, and more beauty and freedom when she turned her eyes to Jesus, let Him open her eyes to see what He sees, and open her ears to hear His gentle whispers. Through all the difficulties that came her way, God taught her that everything in her life He used for good as she leaned into Him with her heart wide open. Even when her heart felt battered and bruised, God turned her ashes into beauty, darkness into light, and chains into wings of freedom.

Memorial contributions can be made to El Porvenir Christian Camp, Montezuma, New Mexico; or Sharing Hope Ministry, Inc., Amarillo, Texas.

For invitation details and to RSVP please copy and paste the following link into your browser or click on the link under the memorial section: https://m.facebook.com/events/737960581685424.

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