John Goold Cleveland

On January 25, 2019, at the healthy age of 95 and still living at home, our father and friend turned off the ignition switch to his beloved tractor.

John Cleveland was born to Katharine Goold Cleveland and Lt. Orestes Cleveland III on October 3, 1923, in Nogales, AZ. His high school years were spent at the Albany Military Academy (NY), where he graduated cum laude and lettered in football and swimming. Continuing his high regard for the military, he attended West Point (USMA) and graduated on D-Day, June 6, 1944. He promptly married his beautiful, deep love Katherine Truesdell, and they enjoyed 66 years together, until her death in 2010. Immediately after marriage, Lt. Cleveland went to Europe to fight in World War II, where he received a purple heart in the Battle of the Bulge. As a dedicated career officer, he was one of a few engineers who was also an Army aviator. Lt. Col. Cleveland ended his Army career (and the attendant 26 moves) at the Pentagon in 1967.

For the next several decades, living in bucolic Clifton, VA, John used his degrees in professional engineering and computer technology to work in the national defense sector, where he played a vital role in the early development of the Internet.

Our father was a man of integrity, humility and discipline, grounded in a kind and loving soul. He walked over a mile a day, worked on his computer, and mowed his eight acres on his tractor almost until his death.

He leaves many family and friends who will cherish his memory: his children, Dixon Cleveland (Nancy) of Annandale, VA, Carey Swan (Mike) of Houston, TX, Nancy Thacher (David) of Redmond, WA, and Hunt Cleveland (Gale) of Fairfax Station, VA; his brother, Lt. Gen. (ret) Charles Goold Cleveland of Montgomery, AL; his most treasured friend, Juanita Sinclair of Raleigh, NC; his caring neighbors in Cloverleaf, with whom he shared many happy days and happy hours; his dearly loved helper and trusted friend, Julie Gregorowicz and his five grandchildren and nieces and nephews, who were always in his heart.

Graveside services are pending for the fall of 2019 at Arlington National Cemetery