Fog/Mist, 40° F
(Oct. 6, 1920-Feb. 13, 2012)
Cleo Adele Ross Kincheloe, 91, passed away Feb. 13, 2012. She was born on Oct. 6, 1920, in her grandmother’s house, 20 miles south of Akron, Colo., to Clyde and Olive Ross. She was the second of two children.
After graduating from Akron High School in 1938 as the valedictorian, Cleo married the love of her life, Bud Kincheloe, on June 30, 1940, in Longmont, Colo. They spent the first years of their marriage working with her parents at their general store, Ross Mercantile, in Elba, Colo. Cleo accompanied Bud to Des Moines, Iowa, where she worked in a hardware store, and to Fort Lewis, Wash., where she worked in a candy factory while he served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
When Bud was shipped overseas, Cleo returned to Elba and welcomed their first child, Crystal. For five years after the war ended, Cleo and Bud lived in Elba, worked at the general store and welcomed their second child, Gregory. Cleo also helped run the Elba Post Office located in the Ross Mercantile.
In 1950, Bud and Cleo embarked on the adventure of a lifetime with their young children, Crystal and Greg, and moved to a farm on the Heart Mountain Irrigation Project. They settled into their new home on Thanksgiving Day. Bud and Cleo were further blessed with two more sons, Phil and Kevin, born in Cody.
In 1957, Bud and Cleo started Kincheloe Plumbing. With her meticulous bookkeeping skills, Cleo helped enable the business to grow to the respected establishment it is today.
Cleo had a passion for adventure. In 1955 she went on a hunting trip in the spectacular Thorofare country and brought home BOTH a bighorn sheep and a bull elk. The very next year she harvested a bull moose. Whether it was hunting, fishing, boating, looking for rocks in the local area or on their many RV trips to Mexico and Alaska among other places, Cleo was ready for an adventure and always prepared with a cooler full of food. She enjoyed being outdoors with Bud, her children and grandchildren and often packed a special rock home. Cleo was a well-known participant in Cody’s annual Fourth of July parades, from horse and buggy to her father’s 1915 Model T Ford. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, businesswoman and friend who had a knack for making everybody feel special. She had effortless style and grace and was always dressed to the nines. She will be greatly missed.
During her years in Cody, Cleo was a member of the Daughters of the Nile, the Heart Mountain American Legion Auxiliary, the local Archeological Society, the Buffalo Bill Historical Society and a 50-year member of the Eastern Star.
Cleo is survived by her daughter, Crystal (Dale) Yonker of O’Fallon, Ill., sons Greg (Sandi) Kincheloe of Cody, Phil Kincheloe of Sedona, Ariz. and Kevin (Lorna) Kincheloe of Cody; grandchildren Troy (Amy) Kincheloe, Tristi (Randy) Oberheu, Tiffany (Eric) Wooley, Lisel Yonker, Capella (Nate Waller) Kincheloe, Kai (Meghan) Kincheloe and Scott (Sarah) Kincheloe; great-grandchildren Wyatt Kincheloe, Harley Kincheloe, Logan Oberheu, Cormac Kincheloe, Sterling Banks and McCoy Banks and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by Bud (J.H.), her husband of 70 years, her parents and brother Carroll Ross.
Services will be 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at Ballard Funeral Home with Rev. Mary Barbee officiating. The casket will be open one hour prior to services. An interment will follow at Riverside Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Daughters of the Nile or Eastern Star.
An online guestbook is available at www.ballardfh.com.
