Kennedy, Cleo Marie

Cleo Marie Kennedy, 84, of Mesa, Ariz., passed away peacefully on Oct. 18, 2009. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson. Burial will be at Rippey Cemetery in Rippey. The family will greet friends before the funeral service beginning at 9 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.

She is survived by three daughters, Mary (Wiegand) of Mesa, Ariz., Rebecca Kennedy of St. Charles, Mo., and Cynthia (Dettman) of Cedar Rapids; one grandson, Andrew Wiegand of Mesa, Ariz.; and two sisters, Roberta Hurd of Erie, Pa., and Susan Watson of Gilbert.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Mabyl Fouch; her husband, James Kennedy; and a sister, Bonnie Mae Blume.

Cleo was born at home on May 10, 1925, in Rippey, Iowa and graduated from Rippey Consolidated High School. After several years of attending school and working in the Des Moines area, she married Jim in 1947. Raising three girls and supporting Jim's work as a self-employed salesman kept Cleo busy for many years until she joined United Fire Insurance Co. in Cedar Rapids in 1978. After retiring from United Fire in 1988, she and Jim enjoyed traveling the U.S. and she became an avid collector of state road maps. Cleo and Jim relocated to Mesa, Ariz., in July 2004.

She will be greatly missed everyday by those who knew and loved her.