Irene R Cleland

Irene R. Cleland, a resident of Albuquerque for the past 23 years, died peacefully Sunday October 4, 2015 at home.  Irene, a compassionate and loving wife and mother, lost a short battle with an aggressive cancer.  She was preceded in death by her parents Kenneth and Jewell Rice.  Her husband of 57 years, John H. Cleland, survives her as do her daughter Karen S. Cleland, her son John V. Cleland and wife Maria all of Albuquerque, her brother James E. Rice and wife Judy of Miller, MO, her sister Evelyn and husband Craig Short of Seguin, TX, numerous cousins, nephews, nieces, grand nephews and nieces and many friends, including some very special young friends, Sydney and Mikey, children of David and Cara Cawood, who call her Granny Irene.

Irene was born January 15, 1937 in Oklahoma City, OK and met John in Prescott, AZ in 1954 when her brother took him to meet their parents on a weekend trip from their Air Force Base in Yuma, AZ.  They were married in Pasadena, CA in 1958, two days following Irene’s college graduation ceremonies after a four year, long-distance courtship-Yuma to Pasadena.

Irene was a stay at home mother and wife, despite having a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She preferred to be home for her children when they returned each day from school, but spent many hours each week as a volunteer for PTA, church or hospital duties.  After moving to Albuquerque from Southern California when John retired in 1992, Irene declared that she too had retired and that they would spend the rest of their lives traveling.  She loved cruising, whether it was a short cruise or one that took several weeks and wanted to visit all 50 states.  Over the past 25 years she and John took 30 cruises accumulating over 850 days at sea and also vacationed while driving in every state in the nation.  She loved to sew and was an accomplished quilter, was an avid reader, and also loved to cook and bake using recipes from her collection of cookbooks.  Irene’s church home was St. Stephens United Methodist Church, where she volunteered for pie duties for the Asbury Café during the State Fair and was on the Memorial and Funeral reception teams.  She was also active in the Bernalillo County Extension Club.  She and John have been members of the Four Hills Country Club-now The Canyon Club at Four Hills-since moving to Albuquerque.

Cremation has taken place and the family has opted to hold Memorial Services at a dated in November when close family members return home from their foreign travels.  The family asks that any memorial contributions be made to a charity of your choice.