Cecil Cleaves

Cecil Cleaves, 91, of Grand Rapids, Ohio passed away May 8, 2020. Cecil was born on July 26, 1928 to the late Luther and Lenis (Danks) Cleaves in Princeton, Kentucky. He married Carolyn Fortney on February 10, 1950 in Angola, Indiana and they were married for 63 years before she preceded him in death on October 11, 2014.

Cecil is survived by his sons: Joseph Cleaves, Cecil “Rusty” Cleaves Jr., Burton Cleaves; daughter: Christine Vollmar; 10 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren, 47 foster grandchildren and a host of loving relatives everywhere.

Cecil was preceded in death by his parents, wife Carolyn, son Robert, and daughter Brenda.

Cecil proudly served his country in the U.S. Army. He worked as a long-haul truck driver for 46 years.  Cecil was a former member of Sugar Ridge Church and was very involved in Sonlight Church in Weston, Ohio. One his proudest accomplishments was building his own house. He never met a stranger and made life-long friends and would do anything for anybody.  Cecil had an “electrifying” personality and was known as a ladies’ man and as quite a charmer. He loved to garden (but not pull weeds), go fishing, camping, and traveling with his family all over the United States. Cecil enjoyed Sunday dinners and they better be dinner (no pizza allowed).  His family was very important to him and he enjoyed spending time with them and especially all his grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on July 26, 2020 at 11:00 in Beaver Creek Cemetery.

Memorial Contributions in Cecil’s honor may be gifted to either Sonlight Church, 19920 Sand Ridge Road, Weston, Ohio or to Transport for Christ, 3483 Libbey Rd, Stony Ridge, OH 43463

Hanneman Funeral Home Grand Rapids is honored to serve Cecil’s family and encourage those to share a fond memory or condolence by visiting www.hannemanfuneralhomes.com

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