Mary Roberta "MaryRob" Clodfelter's Obituary
Mary Roberta “MaryRob” Harris Clodfelter, deeply loved as a mother, grandmother and community activist in Galena, Ohio, passed away on March 27, 2026, at the age of 85, after a brief illness.
MaryRob is survived by children Scott Clodfelter (Kristen), Julia Kay Coughlin (Chuck), Amy Clodfelter and Marc Clodfelter; beloved grandchildren Rusty, Ellie, Ben, Liam and Sam; and brother, Bill Harris (Lynda) and their family. She is predeceased by Harve, who was the great love of her life and husband of 50 years; and her parents Bill and Marie.
MaryRob was a fierce advocate for transparency in government and public service at all levels. She was admired by those advocating for fairness and respected by public officials, who often underestimated her abilities and quickly learned they could not hide anything from her. As an investigative journalist, one of her proudest achievements was participating in a “sting” to reveal Sunshine Law infractions in Ohio. She was also one of the few who actually enjoyed attending and reporting on school board meetings.
MaryRob had a succession of careers focused on her keen interest in people and building educated communities: middle school biology teacher in Virginia and Ohio, supervisor of circulation services at the Worthington Public Library, and newspaper editor and principal reporter of The Johnstown Independent and ThisWeek Delaware. During her tenure as editor, her papers won multiple statewide and national awards for her editorial roles, and she was a past chair of the Ohio Newspaper Association Weekly Newspaper Group. As a volunteer, she coordinated a food co-op and worked tirelessly for two decades to pass multiple school funding issues for the Olentangy Local School District.
Memorial services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Royal Family Kids in Willoughby Hills, Ohio, https://www.rfkwilloughbyhills.org/, an organization run by dear family friends to support children in the foster care system. The family also requests that those who knew her take cookies to their local emergency services department to thank them for their service, as MaryRob did countless times; her grandchildren suggest using MaryRob’s favorite cookie recipe, which she baked hundreds of times to support her community. See her recipe at https://bit.ly/MammaCookies.
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