S. Shervin

Claudette was born July 5, 1936 in Jackson, Wyoming to Claude and Lyle Goe Crisp, she was their second child. Her brother, John Ryan, was four years older. Johnny would tell the story about Claudette learning to walk at an early age during the time their family spent at the Forest Service cabin at Tepee Creek. Claudette's knees got so many slivers from crawling around on the old plank floor that she was up and walking long before she should have been. She had had enough! As she got older, Johnny played the patient older brother and allowed Claudette to paint his toe nails bright red. On one occasion, they had gone to the local shoe store to buy Johnny some new shoes, forgetting that his sister had recently painted his toe nails red. We're sure that caused a good laugh! Claudette went to school in Jackson and that is where she met Harold Shervin. They were married on April 14, 1953, when she was seventeen. Their first son Mike was born in 1953 and Dan was born in 1955. One of Claudette's first jobs was at Teton Laundry working alongside her mother. She was also a switch board operator for the local phone company. Dan remembers wanting to call friends on the phone and the operator he always got was his mother. She would tell him to get off the phone and with a pull of the plug, he was disconnected. Claudette happened to be working the night of the Hebgen Lake earthquake and she said that the switchboard just lit up like a Christmas tree. In 1955 Harold and Claudette bought a ranch from Mitt Robinson up the Gros Ventre, just across the river from the cabin where she had learned to walk. The only thing this ranch had was sage brush, the homestead cabin with the roof caved in, and a small barn. They were finally able to get the brush cleared off, the field fenced and grew a crop of oats. After that they grew hay and sold it to the Game and Fish to feed elk in the winter. While they were building the ranch up the Gros Ventre, they bought a service station business in Jackson, Harold's Standard, next to the Elk's Club. While running the station they managed to build eight new cabins and a main lodge; the Goose Wing Guest Ranch was born. They sold the service station in the early 1970's, after over 10 years of business and began focusing more attention on the ranch they had built from the ground up. They began taking summer guests on pack trips and fishing trips into the Gros Ventre Mountains and in the fall they would guide elk hunters. Snowmobiles had become very popular for winter time fun, so the Goose Wing Ranch started staying open all winter, providing food and beds to winter time travelers. Many a good times were had by Jackson, Pinedale, and Dubois locals in addition to those that came from all areas of the country. Claudette was known for the homemade breads, rolls, pies and other desserts she cooked for her guests, all of which she learned from her mother with the exception of pie crust. Harold insisted Claudette had to learn that skill from his mother Margaret, a well-known cook at the Wort Hotel; a lesson she learned well, as many of us know. Claudette and Harold ran the Goose Wing Ranch until 1984, when they decided to pursue a lifelong dream. Harold had always wanted a cattle ranch in Montana, so they sold Goose Wing and bought a ranch in Boulder Montana. After a few improvements, they bought roughly 400 mother cows and raised cattle for twelve years. Claudette worked right alongside Harold; running the swather, branding and vaccinating the calves; just about anything you could think of that a ranch wife could do, she would do. She kept a watchful eye while mowing the hay fields knowing there were fawns hidden there by their mothers. If she ever came across one, she would wait for the fawn to scamper out of the way. Claudette always took a liking to the odd man out; one year they had a calf born with white eyes who turned out to be blind, she named him Twinkle Toes. Every day Claudette would track that calf down to make sure he had made it through the night. After working so hard for so many years, Harold and Claudette decided it was time to retire. They sold their Montana cattle ranch in 1997 and moved to Dubois, Wyoming. With dreams of spending their winter's in Arizona, they also purchased land outside of Wickenburg. The land was sub-divided with the intention of retaining one lot to build their home on. Unfortunately, Harold passed away suddenly in 2001. Claudette stayed in Dubois for a couple years after she lost Harold. She then moved back to Jackson to live closer to family. Throughout her life, there were many picnics with family and friends, whether it be at Water Dog Lake up the Gros Ventre in the summertime or by snow plane on Jackson Lake in the winter. She thoroughly enjoyed spending time outdoors with family and friends. If there was ever a time you could not track her down, it was inevitable she could be found taking her best buddies, Rusty and Pete, for their daily walk. Claudette was an expert seamstress who made her own shirts. As petite as she was, it was difficult to find shirts that fit. She also became an accomplished quilter. Retirement provided more time to enjoy sewing, quilting, gardening and picking up a good book. Claudette was preceded in death by her son Mike in 1971, her parents Claude and Lyle, husband Harold, and her brother Johnny. She is survived by her son Dan and his wife Laura, grandchildren Margaret (Cody) Ellis of Meridian Idaho, and Robert Shervin (Lisa Sweeter) of Flagstaff Arizona. She has two great grandchildren, Lexie and Coltyn Ellis. The family would like to thank the staff at St. John's Living Center for the love and care they have provided over the last several years. Contributions may be made to St. John's Living Center in her memory. Funeral services will be on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 11a.m. at the First Baptist Church on Cache and Kelly.

---