Cleo Belle O'Kane

BOSCOBEL/COLORADO-Cleo Bell (Clark) O’Kane, age 96, passed away at her home in Lakewood, Colo. on Friday, March 16, 2012, after a short illness. Cleo was born on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, 1915, on a farmstead near Marietta, the daughter of Milton and Alice Clark. As a young woman she worked in various positions until she met Hiram Eldon O’Kane at a dance and married him in Dodgeville, on Sept. 9, 1935. The O’Kanes were farmers in Crawford County, where their two children were born, Hiram Milton in 1936 and Marion Alice in 1941. They shared their lives together in Wisconsin until her husband Hiram passed away at their home in Boscobel in 1980. Cleo then moved from Wisconsin to Colorado to be closer to family. Cleo is survived by her daughter, Marion Govan of Bosie, Idaho;daughter-in-law, Marlene O’Kane of Kiowa, Colo.; grandchildren, Lisa Phillips, Amy O’Kane, Hiram Maki O’Kane, Molly McElwee, Victor O’Kane, and David Searle; great-grandchildren, Rose Shattell, Sarah, Daniel and Scott Phillips, Adia, Darien, and Samantha O’Kane; great-great –grandchildren, Emily, Rose, Milo and Austen; sisters, Freda Tichendorf and Jesse Cone; brother–in-law, Clifford O’Kane; many nieces and nephews; and cousins. Cleo is preceded in death by her husband; son and sisters, Claire Morton, Olive Coe, and Ruby Bennet; brother, Ralph Clark; two infant sisters, Opal and Myna Clark; and two grandchildren, Christina Leggett and Vina Searle. Funeral services will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL HOME, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 24, 2012. Burial will be at Sunset Memory Gardens. Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday, March 23, 2012. Cleo was devoted to her family and church family and her presence will be missed in their lives. We look forward to seeing Cleo again as she always often reminded us that “Life has been good, Eternity will be better.” Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday, March 23, 2012. Funeral services will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL HOME, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 24, 2012. Burial will be at Sunset Memory Gardens.