December 29, 1982 - June 12, 2012
Murry D Cleveland Obituary
Passed away on June, 12, 2012 in Spokane, WA. Murry was born December 29, 1928 in Sioux City, IA to Marvin P. and Grace Marie Cleveland, attended school in the Sioux City area and received a diploma from the high school in Sergeants Bluff, IA. He moved with his family to Walla Walla, WA in 1942 where he worked on a cattle ranch. He served in the Navy from 1946 to 1948 and returned to Walla Walla where he began his auto body rebuild career.
Murry married Clara Wyant with whom he had two children, Dixie and David. They lived in Sioux City and Denver, CO. In Seattle, WA he worked as an Iron Worker and later managed an auto body rebuild shop. He married his second wife, Thelma Danielsen, June 11, 1960. They lived for several years in St. Petersburg, FL where he owned an auto body rebuild shop and enjoyed boating and scuba diving. They returned to the Seattle area where he attended Everett Junior College and the University of Washington. He taught Vocational Education at the high school in Mountlake Terrace, WA and at Edmonds Community College. During this time he actively helped with Junior Rodeo and enjoyed many horse riding trips in the Cascade Mountains.
In 1969, Murry and Thelma moved to a ranch near Colville, WA where they raised beef cattle and he taught Vocational Education at Spruce Canyon, a juvenile correctional facility affiliated with the state Departments of Institutions and Natural Resources. Murry designed and implemented the first work release program for juveniles in the state in cooperation with Colville businesses. Their son, Aaron, was born in 1970. He was an active member of the Stevens County Sheriff's Posse. When Spruce Canyon was closed, they bought a 400 acre ranch near Diamond Lake south of Newport, WA and raised beef cattle. He became a Captain in the Pend Oreille County Sheriff's Posse and led search and rescue teams.
1976 found Murry and his family back in western Washington where he managed a custom auto body rebuild shop in Kirkland and coached Little League baseball. Four years later, they returned to eastern Washington and bought an acreage north of Deer Park where he built the house that they have lived in for 32 years and raised beef cattle. He also owned a pawn shop in Deer Park, served on the Deer Park School District Board of Directors and coached junior soccer teams. He continued to like to ride horses, hunt, fish, and boat.
Murry is survived by his wife of 52 years, Thelma; and his children and their families: daughter Dixie Campbell of Estacada, OR and her children, Jason and Justin Brummett and Jerod Campbell; son David Cleveland of Deer Park, WA and his daughter, Lindsey; son Aaron Cleveland, his wife Renee, and their children, Samuel and Alexandra of Clayton, WA. He is also survived by his brother, Merlyn Cleveland of Post Falls, ID; Marlowe Cleveland of Salton Sea Beach, CA; Neal Cleveland and wife, Patricia of Sioux City, IA; great-grandchildren Connor, Colin, Chloe and Ashlee, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Murry was pre-deceased by his parents and his sister, Myvis Reese-Copple.
Visitation will be Friday, June 22, 2012, from 5 pm to 7pm. A memorial service followed by reception will be held on Saturday, June 23, 2012, at 11:00 am at Heritage Funeral Chapel in Spokane, WA.
Comments