Clarice Elaine Strannigan (nee Hoffman) of Riverton, Wyoming died in Laramie on July 2, 2021.  She was 86 years old.  She was born March 13, 1935, at Grand Meadow, Minnesota, the daughter of Esther (nee Biederbeck) and Robert Hoffman.  The Hoffmans, including her brother Bruce, moved to Laramie when she was a child.  Clarice attended University Prep High School and was a cheerleader for the school’s sporting events.  She actively participated in Jobs Daughters and was a Past Honored Queen.  In addition, the Order of Eastern Star was among her other activities.  Following graduation, she visited New York City and Colorado to pursue her career in cosmetology.

Those plans took a slight detour when she met her husband-to-be, William Andrew (Bill) Strannigan, a student at the University of Wyoming; and they married at the First Methodist Church in Laramie August 3, 1957.  Soon thereafter, the newlyweds moved to Riverton where Bill had accepted his first coaching job at St. Stephen’s High School.  Clarice became the mentor for the school’s pep squad and introduced them to cheerleading and other events to support their teams.  Thus began a 55-year association with the Riverton community at large, the various community organizations, and the educational district in particular since Bill moved to coaching and activities director at Riverton High School.  There wasn’t a single event involving the school that was not documented in the scrapbooks she kept for her family.  Clarice resumed her cosmetology career full-time at the MC Beauty Shop and continued working while raising two sons, actively participating in her church by serving on various boards, helping with the Search and Building Committees, and preparing countless cookies, cakes, and homemade noodles for their fund-raising events.  Being part of the leadership of P.E.O, Chapter H, serving all offices except guard and chaplain and twice acting as President also occupied her fifty-year membership in P.E.O. for which she was honored this year.

 Clarice and Bill were a partnership that included all aspects of their more than fifty years together.  Although she was often referred to as the “coach’s wife,” she was the force behind Bill who made possible the countless gatherings at their home each summer greeting new coaches and wives; being among the first to visit and prepare desserts and dinners for friends, students, and church members who experienced happy or difficult events; planning menus, prizes, scrapbooks, and meals for their annual gathering of the Big Horn Basin Retired Coaches Association.  Any undertaking by Bill or her sons was fully supported by Clarice, and there wasn’t a sporting event before and after retirement that they didn’t travel statewide to see the St. Stephen’s Eagles or Riverton Wolverines in action.  Clarice was an avid bridge player, devoted Colorado Rockies fan, and golfer.  Any activity or event her husband and sons undertook she quickly joined in and supported fully.

Clarice is survived by her sons Terry (children Brandon, Blake, and Blair) and Scott (wife Dianna and children Chelsea and Conor), and great-grandsons, Morrison and Stone Houston; brother Bruce (Penny) and family; and sister-in-law, Liz Strannigan.  She was preceded in death by her husband Bill, her parents, and in-laws Andrew, Bess, and Margaret Strannigan.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.  The family respectfully suggests tributes in Clarice’s memory may be made to the charity of your choice.