Grace Maureen Claussen-Rufener

Grace Maureen Claussen-Rufener passed from all earthly cares on February 20, 2026, 2 months before her 95th birthday.

Grace was born in Lincoln, Kansas in 1931 and married Leo Willis Claussen in 1949. They settled in Dorrance, Kansas and were blessed with six children: Colleen, Jim, Kathleen, Lynn, Therese and Maureen. She and her family moved to Lindsborg in 1964 where she became involved with the Lindsborg Broadway RFD playing Rosalie in “Carnival”, and sang with the Messiah.

The family later moved to Salina where Grace sang with a band for a time and with the Sweet Adelines as well as singing for numerous weddings, funerals, and for the Kansas state governor. In addition to singing, Grace enjoyed drawing and writing. She wrote a book, “The Diary of Elizabeth Smith”, published under the name Maureen McGuire.

Grace worked for fifteen years at Beech Aircraft as a machinist and later in the Quality Control area. While working for Beech she earned the role of Union Steward and later President.

Grace’s husband and father of her six children, Leo W. Claussen died in 2003. She remarried in 2013 to Gerald A. Rufener, who died in 2024.

Grace is preceded in death by her son Jim, her eldest daughter, Colleen, both of her husbands and her parents, Fred H. and Carol J. Shaw.

There will be a graveside service in Dorrance, Kansas at a later date.

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