Cleo Louise Blackwood passed away on October 10, 2022, at age 92.
She was born Cleo Haney on November 23, 1929, in Sterling, Kansas, where she attended primary schools and earned an associate degree in education from Sterling College in 1949. After graduating, she taught second grade for one year in a nearby town, until marrying John W. Blackwood in 1950. The two would remain devoted to each other until John passed away in 2012.
Cleo and her husband moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, where John, a World War II navy veteran, established a radio and television repair business. Their two children, Carol and Mark were born in Hutchinson.
In 1968, the family moved to Lakewood, Colorado, where Cleo worked two years as an elementary school teacher's aide, followed by clerical positions with an insurance company and the federal government.
Cleo valued family and friends more than anything else and prayed for them nightly. She enjoyed watching Bronco games on television with friends and kept current with numerous family members. In 1991, she and John began a 15-year tradition of traveling around the country to attend annual reunions with several of John's six brothers.
After losing her husband, Cleo volunteered at the Clements Community Center where she continued to make close friends.
She is survived by her daughter Carol, her son Mark (Celia), and three grandchildren, Jamie Mandel, Paul Goff and Steven Blackwood.
At Cleo's request, there will be no memorial service. Burial will be at Fort Logan National Cemetery, beside her husband.
Memorial donations can be made to Clements Community Center.
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