Middletown, Delaware: Claire E. (Welch) (Stackelin) Duff, 93, a former longtime resident of Plaistow and Haverhill, died Sunday, March 17, 2019 in Dover, Delaware.

Born, raised and educated in Lewiston, Maine, she was the daughter of the late Edward and Blanche (Jackson) Welch. She attended local schools and graduated from Lewiston High School with the Class of 1943.

She owned and operated the former Al's Pizza in Haverhill for twenty-five years with her late first husband Alexander "Al" Stackelin. She later operated the coffee shop at the former Hale Hospital in Haverhill and worked at the coffee shop at the former Bon Secours Hospital in Methuen. Previously, she operated the cafeteria at the former 5 ^th Avenue Shoe Co.

Mrs. Duff was a member of the Hale Hospital Auxiliary and volunteered as an aide at the Pollard School and Timberlane Middle School in Plaistow. An avid reader, she enjoyed knitting and crocheting. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother and enjoyed caring for her grandchildren when her own children entered the workforce.

Predeceased by her first husband Alexander Stackelin in 1980 and her second husband Henry I. Duff in 2006, she will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her daughters and sons-in-law, Janet (Stackelin) Lombardo and Carl Lombardo of Sykesville, Maryland and Sherry (Stackelin) Duff and her husband Paul Duff of Middletown, DE, grandchildren, Lisa (Lombardo) Clarke and her husband Craig, Melissa (Duff) Nichols and her husband James, Aimee Duff, Joe Duff, Kathleen Simmons, and Christine Frick, great-grandchildren, Austin, A.J., Sophia, Kyle, Ryan, Makayla, Nicholas and Meghan, her dear friend Debb Thompson of Florida and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a grandson Stephen Lombardo.

There will be no public services at the request of Mrs. Duff. Arrangements are under the direction of Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home of Plaistow. Donations in her name may be made to the Parkinsons Research Foundation, 5969 Cattleridge Blvd.,Suite 100, Sarasota, FL. To send a message of condolence to the family, please visit www.brooksidechapelfh.com .