Clara (Plonk) Ploitis

Clara Plonk Politis passed peacefully on December 28, 2024, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at almost 101 years of age. She was born at home in Kings Mountain, a small town in North Carolina, and was the ninth of ten children of Ellen Patterson Plonk and Clarence Sloan Plonk.

Clara never sang professionally, but she was the lead voice in church choirs most of her life and sang solos and performed readings at too many weddings to count. Clara was a devout Christian and was thoroughly involved in church life. She also loved reading and gardening and could be found in her garden planting or pulling weeds, even after her 100th birthday. At age 100, Clara still drove herself to lunch with friends, to appointments and for groceries. Not much slowed Clara down!

Clara was a devoted mother, who never missed a home swim meet, baseball game, or any of her children’s performances. She didn’t complain: not even when late one evening she was summoned by son George to drive an hour and a half to retrieve him from a Huron High School swim meet after he missed the team bus. Clara supported without smothering, allowing sons Ted and George room to grow while also providing a firm stalk on which to climb.

Clara will be dearly missed by her sons Ted and George, her daughter-in-law Lee, her grandson Nicholas and his wife Cayce, grandsons Alex and Devin, and great grandchildren Mac and Archer. She also will missed by her friends and by over 30 nieces and nephews, many who attended her epic 100th birthday party which gave her unsurpassed joy!

A celebration of Clara’s life will be held April 26, 2025, at 1 PM, at Resurrection Lutheran Church, Kings Mountain, NC. All who desire to attend are welcome.