Calling(s)

Monday, March 04, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM Young Family Funeral Home - Hudson/Ashley Chapel

Service

Monday, March 04, 1:00 PM Young Family Funeral Home - Hudson/Ashley Chapel

Obituary

Cleota Margie Gramling (née Potts) of Angola died peacefully on February 27, 2019 at the age of 97. She will be buried next to her beloved husband, L.D. (2007) and her daughter, Nancy Sue Rockey, (1989) at the Circle Hill Cemetery in Angola. Her eldest child, Carol Louise Stegmoller, preceded her passing (2016).

Cleota and L.D. were married in the parsonage at the Church of Christ in Auburn on April 27, 1941 with a nickel in their pockets and dreams of a life together. They enjoyed 66 years of marital bliss which included antiquing, camping, gardening and traveling to visit their children and grandchildren. During their early years, they could be found at 4-H park having a picnic with family and friends. They owned Wearly Monuments in Angola for 20 years.

Cleota was born on December 30, 1921 on the family farm near Corunna to Alta Alleva (née Farver) and Samuel Wilson Potts. There was no electricity, running water or phones. Farming was done with horses and cows were milked by hand. Six years later her sister, Lucy, was born and the household soon graduated to the steel-wheeled tractor. Her father's favorite song? You guessed it - - "My Little Margie". Although farm life had its challenges, Cleota remembered it as being fun. She had a dog who skipped rope, a large tree with a swing in the front yard and an apple orchard that provided endless climbing opportunities. She was a trusting dare-devil. For example, her father would tether her by rope and she would climb onto the two-storied barn's roof and extend herself to the opposite side to clean the gutters! Needless to say, she climbed throughout the barn's rafters often playing double-dog-dare-you with a cousin.

Cleota attended a one-room school house for her first 8 years of schooling. No electricity or running water; regardless of the weather, she walked a mile to attend school where the room was heated by a pot-bellied stove. Drinking water came from a nearby pump or by melting snow that had been collected. She later graduated from Ashley High School.

For many years, Cleota was an active member of the Eastern Stars, Rebecca Lodge and the Pleasant Lake United Methodist Church. She was a loving wife, mother and grand-mother. A product of the depression, she was a fabulous homemaker and could stretch a nickel far beyond anyone's imagination.Cleota was independent and strong willed but she put the needs of others ahead of her own.

Cleota was ambidextrous who could write cursive in mirror image with either hand, and, had memorized 30 nursery rhymes (in a specific order) to ease into her night's sleep; she could start with 1 thru 30, or, reverse that order, or anywhere in between. An avid reader who loved people and conversations. Her favorite television program was the Lawrence Welk Show, or, as she called it, The Bubble Man Show. Her stories, love and compassion will be missed by all of those lives she touched.

Cleota leaves two sons. Ron and his wife Cathi in the Dallas, Texas area; Terry and his wife Cyndi in the Houston, Texas area. There are nine grandchildren-Christine Anderson-Sieger, Ron Gramling, Jr., Brian Gramling, Tara Rockey, Stacy Rockey, David Stegmoller, Jeffrey Stegmoller, Kim Foote and Kelley Gramling; many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

A major debt of gratitude is acknowledged to Stacy and her children, Tori and Trevor, for their daily love, attention and devotion to Grandma's wellbeing; an equal debt of gratitude is also extended to Tara for her love and caring for Grandma.

Services will be at Monday, March 4, 2019, at 1 p.m. at Young Family Funeral Home, Hudson-Ashley Chapel, 612 North Main Street, Hudson, with Pastor John Boyonowski of the Pleasant Lake United Methodist Church officiating.

Calling will be Monday, March 4, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the National Diabetes Association.

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