Nina Rae McCulley Cleveland

Nina Rae McCulley Cleveland was born in Pendleton, Oregon to Harold Graham McCulley and Lillis Hughes McCulley on July 20, 1920. Her family later moved to Hermiston where she lived until she left for College.

She has two living sisters, Joyce Estvold (Minot, ND) and Ruth Powell (Portland, OR) . Her deceased brother, Otis McCulley lived in Pasco, WA. Nina’s son David Cleveland lives in Salem as does her daughter Nancy Crockett and son-in-law Ken Crockett. Nina’s grandson Aaron Crockett and his wife Alison Gary Crockett live in Portland.

Nina was a small lady with a lot of energy and ambition. On her life’s journey she attended college at OSU and then UofO . She married Melvin H Cleveland of Salem in 1942 just as he was to ship out after Pearl Harbor. While he was stationed in the South Pacific, she graduated from UofO with Phi Beta Kappa honors and then taught English and Drama at Sandy and Roosevelt High Schools.

Following his military service, Mel and Nina Rae settled in Salem. While her children were young, Nina was active in the League of Women Voters rising to local President and then the State Board in the late ‘50s. As her children grew, Nina also involved herself with Teen Mothers (YWCA) and the Friends of the Salem Library. Later Nina represented the the League of Women Voters and the American Library Association as one of the first women to be a registered lobbyist in the State of Oregon. Her passionate support of libraries led to her being appointed by Governors Straub and Atiyeh to the Board of Trustees of the State Library.

She was generous, loyal, and sensitive to those in need especially those without food or shelter. She loved music and all types of artistic endeavors. She absorbed everything she could learn from travel, museums, and people with interesting backgrounds. But her greatest love was books and the written word. “Anything you need to know can be found in books” was her favorite quote.

She will be remembered for her incisive use of words, her depth of knowledge, and her dogged determination to make a difference in this world.

Services will be Saturday, April 29, 2017, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Salem, 5090 Center St NE. at 2:00.

Arrangements under the direction of Howell-Edwards-Doerksen with Rigdon-Ransom Funeral Directors, Salem, Oregon.