Ervel F. Cleaver

Funeral services for Ervel F. Cleaver, 89, Lawrence, will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary. Burial will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Kansas City, Kan.
Mr. Cleaver died Friday, Sept. 11, 2009, at his home.
He was born April 29, 1920, in Findley, Ill., the son of Mike S. and Cora George Cleaver.
He was a veteran of World War II, serving in France and Germany.
Mr. Cleaver was a retired car inspector for the Union Pacific Railroad. He retired after 30 years in 1980. He had also worked for the Rock Island Railroad and the Santa Fe Railway. Following his retirement, he had worked as the secretary for the Scottish Rite Bodies of Lawrence.
He was a 50-year member and past master of Henri No. 190 AF & AM Lodge in Tonganoxie. He was a 33rd degree member of the Scottish Rite Bodies of Lawrence and a KYCH of the Lawrence York Rite Bodies. He was Grand Advisor of Order of True Kindred State of Kansas and Past Advisor of Miriam No. 10 OTK in Kansas City. He was also a member of Retta No. 8 OTK in Ottawa.
He was past watchman of Shepherds of Fidelity Shrine, White Shrine of Jerusalem of Lawrence, past worthy patron of Rinda Chapter 82, Order of Eastern Star in Tonganoxie, Member of Council No. 1, Ancient Toltec Rite in Topeka, Past Sovereign on St. Justin Conclave, Red Cross of Constantine in Kansas City, and a member of Royal Order of Scotland and of the Philethes society.
He married Grace Gillespie on Aug. 31, 1940, in Kansas City, Kan. She survives, of the home.
Other survivors include two sons, William “Bill” and wife Melinda, Mannford, Okla., and Fred, Lawrence; a sister, Georgia Howe, Alamogordo, N.M.; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
The family will greet friends from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the mortuary.
Online condolences may be sent at warrenmcelwain.com, subject: Cleaver.