Mrs. Angeline Acosta McCleskey

COLUMBIA Angeline “Angie” Acosta McCleskey, 88, went home to be with the Lord December 30, 2014, while surrounded by her loving family. She was a founding member of Northeast Presbyterian Church, where she sang in the choir and played handbells. Angie enjoyed bridge with friends, attended Columbia Symphony Orchestra concerts, supported Riverbanks Zoo, sewed Halloween costumes, loved trying new appetizer recipes, and looked forward to family reunions at the beach. In addition, she donated blood regularly, knitted hats and blankets for newborns and drove cancer patients to appointments. She was the sixth of seven children born to Francis Joseph and Marie Yale Acosta. As a young woman, Angie worked as a reservations agent for Northwest Airlines in Washington, D.C., where she met her husband, Ben, who at the time was as a doorkeeper in the House of Representatives. After their marriage in 1950, Ben took a sales job with Westinghouse Electric Corp., which eventually brought the couple to the Columbia area. Ben died in 1998. Angie is survived by her daughters, Ellen McCleskey, Leigh Bryant (Tony), Sara Taylor (Mike) and Julie Rieger (Richard). She has eight grandchildren - Leslie Bryant Wilson (John), Elizabeth Bryant Gushwa (Danny), Curtis Bryant, Matthew Bryant, Jeff Taylor, Brook Taylor, Ashton Rieger and McNair Rieger and three great-grandchildren, Hannah and Bella Wilson, and Alexander Gushwa. She also leaves two sisters, Helyn Townsend of Plymouth, N.H. and Anita Dolan of Bethesda, Md.; and a host of nieces and nephews. The family thanks Shirley Sine of Senior Matters Extended Care Services and the Palmetto Health HomeCare Services/Hospice for the care provided to their mother and grandmother, and the men of the Hope Committee at Forest Lake Presbyterian Church for building a wheelchair ramp at the house. The family will receive visitors Friday, January 9, 2015, from 6-8 p.m., at Dunbar Funeral Home, 3926 Devine Street, Columbia 29205. The funeral service and interment are scheduled for Saturday, January 10, 2015, at 11 a.m. at Northeast Presbyterian Church, 601 Polo Road, Columbia 29223. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Angie’s memory be made to Palmetto Home Health/Hospice, PO Box 7275, Columbia, SC 29202, or Northeast Presbyterian Church Music Ministry, 601 Polo Road, Columbia, SC 29223.