Cleo Wesley Hall, 91, of Phoenix, AZ, was born January 30, 1928 to Carl and Lucille (McGinnis) Hall at home in the community of Baileyboro, TX in Bailey County. He passed away in Glendale, AZ on September 15, 2019. Having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2015, he could no longer live at home after his wife pre-deceased him in August of 2017. He moved to CESCA Adult Care Home in Glendale and spent the remainder of his days under their excellent care. He passed from this life into the arms of Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior after succumbing to pneumonia.
Cleo spent the first 29 years of his life in several different west Texas communities, and he graduated high school from Bula School, Bula, TX, in 1944 at the age of 16. He promptly opened his own auto repair business. He could repair just about anything with a motor, so he was an asset to the local farmers, not only in repairing their automobiles but also farm equipment and irrigation pumps.
He married Leta Mae Bayless on June 8, 1948. They had known each other since childhood. They had two children while living in TX, Belva and Jerry. They moved to Phoenix, AZ in March of 1957 and had two more children in AZ, Kenneth and Sherri.
After moving to AZ, Cleo decided to try his hand at sales, selling wheel balancers and encyclopedias because he was tired of working on motors. He soon discovered that he could not make a good living at this, and went back to his roots of working as an auto mechanic. He purchased a Signal Oil Company service station at 3rd Ave. and Moreland toward the downtown area of Phoenix. There he pumped gas and did auto repair. Much of the repair work was contracted to him from Coulter Cadillac which was then located at Central Ave. and Moreland. Due to eminent domain, in 1960 he was forced to sell the station to the City of Phoenix for road rerouting. He then went to work for Madison Ford Dealership in their refrigeration department where he met Dick Davis. In 1961 they went into partnership and opened East McDowell Automotive. This was a successful enterprise for 20 years when they decided to sell and retire.
After retiring an opportunity arose for him and Leta to travel and work for a RV caravan company for three years beginning in 1988. Cleo was the mechanic for the caravan tours that went to Mexico and up to Alaska. It was his job to repair his fellow traveler’s rigs if they broke down while on tour. In 1991, he had to give this up due to a diagnosis and treatment of cancer. He survived three bouts with cancer during his lifetime.
Cleo was not only a successful businessman and loving father, but he was a devout Christian and served tirelessly in his local church, First Southern Baptist Church of Glendale for 62 years. He was an ordained deacon, church trustee, Sunday School teacher, and did any kind of repair work that needed to be done on the church property. Whether it was yard work, air conditioning, bus repair, or construction, he was often called to do it, and he did so with his whole heart because he was serving his Lord Jesus. While in retirement, he and Leta spent 25 years at their summer home in Show Low. They served at First Baptist Church in Show Low as if they were members. Wherever they were, they had a wonderful ministry of serving others. They often helped those who had physical or practical needs due to illness, age, widowhood, or tough luck. Leta would bake a casserole and visit with the one in need or clean their house, while Cleo would mow their yard, repair their car, fix their plumbing, paint a wall, or whatever needed to be done. He was a man of many talents and was happiest when he was physically working hard and meeting the needs of others.
He is survived by his four children: Belva (Gene) Barrick of Glendale, Jerry (Donna) Hall of Glendale, Kenneth (Karen Sue) Hall of Columbia, TN, and Sherri (Dale) Oxley of Phoenix; his granddaughter Katie (Jon) King of Nashville, TN; two great-grandchildren: Reagan Mae King and Winston Barrick King of Nashville, TN; two sisters: Oleta (Bill-deceased) Burris of Brownfield, TX, and Wanda (J.E.) Layton of Enochs, TX, two sisters-in-law: Myrtie (Leland—deceased) Finley of Odessa, TX, and Wanda (Joe) Doak of Wylie, TX; and twelve nieces and nephews who reside in CA and TX. He also had four step-grandchildren: Shelli (Deron) Algeo of Orlando, FL, Keith Sypolt of Chattanooga, TN, Ryan (Laurie) Shumaker of Glendale, Julie (Jerry) Sparks of Ashfork, AZ; and six step-great-grandchildren: Kaitlyn (Brandon) Negron and Bryce Algeo of Orlando, FL, and Gavin, Jakob, Seth and Wyatt Shumaker of Glendale.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to a mission or charity of your choice.
Celebration services will be at his church, First Southern Baptist Church at Sahuaro Ranch, 10250 N. 59th Ave., Glendale, AZ 85302, on Saturday, September 21st, with visitation at 9:00 a.m., funeral at 10:00 a.m., and graveside following the service at West Resthaven Cemetery, 6450 W. Northern Ave., Glendale, AZ. His pastor, Dr. Mark Mucklow, will officiate.
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