Clarabelle Catherine (Nebgen) Shrout, 102, of Oak Grove, Missouri, passed away on Friday, March 4, 2022, at Oak Grove Nursing & Rehab.  Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, March 14th at Grace United Methodist Church, Oak Grove Campus; burial in Oak Grove Cemetery.  The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. until service time at the church.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the church or to Crossroads Hospice.

Clarabelle was born southwest of Oak Grove, MO, in the Wide Awake country school district on October 11, 1919.  She was the youngest of eight children born to William Frederick and Clara Wilhelmina (Mueller) Nebgen.  Clarabelle completed grades 1 through 8 at the Wide Awake Country School and graduated from Oak Grove High School in 1937.  She met James Shrout while attending high school.  In 1938, Clarabelle got her first job, working at Montgomery Ward off St. John and Belmont in Kansas City, MO.    Clarabelle worked in the bookkeeping department, working 48 hours per week, and making $0.28 an hour.  She worked at Montgomery Ward for 2 years.

In 1940, after Montgomery Ward, Clarabelle began working for TWA (Trans World Airlines) for $100 a month salary, where she wrote down the flights (like a flight recorder).  She worked with TWA for 2 years.  In 1941 and in a Model T Ford, Clarabelle and her girlfriend drove from Missouri to San Diego to visit and marry James Shrout.  Her father told her that if she married James, she would be related to nearly all of Jackson County! They married on March 1, 1941 in San Diego, CA.

Clarabelle and James moved to Buckner, MO, in 1946, and she worked at the Buckner Bank.  In 1954, Shrout Oliver Company opened in Oak Grove.  Many years later, Shrout Oliver Company’s name was changed to Oak Grove Automotive.   In 1955, Clarabelle and James moved to Oak Grove.  Clarabelle worked at Oak Grove Automotive before she started working part-time at Commercial Bank in 1965.  She retired from Commercial Bank in 1984.  In 1989, Oak Grove Automotive closed.  Clarabelle returned to work at Commerical Bank and retired again in the early 2000’s. Clarabelle and James loved to travel.

Clarabelle was the grandma to many of Oak Grove’s kids, especially while her grandchildren were in school.  She attended every game and match she possibly could, including giving rides to and from practice.  Clarabelle volunteered with many Oak Grove organizations and clubs including Meals on Wheels and Oak Grove’s All School Reunion.  She was a member of the United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, American Business Women Association (ABWA), Order of the Eastern Star, and the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary.  Clarabelle loved playing cards, specifically Skip Bo.  For her 100th birthday, her granddaughter reached out to the maker, Mattel, for a birthday card wishing her a happy birthday.  When she opened their gift on her 100th birthday, Mattel had created “Clara-Bo”, a Skip Bo game made in her honor.  She also loved to crochet, embroider, quilt, work puzzle books, read, cook, and shop.

Clarabelle was preceded in death by her husband, James Shrout; son, Mark Shrout; son-in-law, Scott Beck; grandson, James “Cecil” Wall; and all of her siblings: Louis Nebgen, Pauline Buckley, William Nebgen, Bertha Pine, John Nebgen, Elmer Nebgen, and Eugene Nebgen.

Her survivors include her three children: Kathy Wall (Dan Neal), Jim Shrout (Jill), and Lisa Beck, all of Oak Grove, MO; five grandchildren: Jeff Wall, Alicia Janeski (Clarence Hinds), Mark Wall (Lisa), Lauren Neyer (Dan), and John Hendrickson (Jessie); and six great-grandchildren: Nolan, Colin, and Leif Hendrickson, Eleanor Neyer, and Maci and Max Burnett.

Arrangements:  Royer Funeral Home, Oak Grove, MO   816-690-4441