Tommie Cleveland-Stowell

Tommie was born into the Young family on March 17, 1908 in Phoenix City, Alabama to the parents of Frances and William. Tommie was the youngest of three children. A few months after Tommie’s birth, the family moved to Columbus, Georgia. In her teen-age years, Tommie attended Industrial High School. Afterwards, she got a job as a clerk at the department store W.T. Grant. Tommie worked her way up the corporate ladder and became a supervisor and then, later, a buyer for various departments within the store. Furthermore, she had the privilege to open numerous stores in the Southeast district and stayed with the company until 1976 when she retired. Tommie married Abel Cleveland, who was a soldier at Fort Benning, in 1925. They had two beautiful boys, Robert and Thomas. In the 1970s, Tommie remarried to Donald Stowell. The two met at a travel club; it was said that Don could not take his eyes off of Tommie from the moment he saw her. Don treated Tommie just like the queen that she was; she loved to dance and travel the world. Some of her favorite destinations were France, Germany, and London, where she spent about six months living with her son Thomas and his family. Tommie was always a night owl, and when there was no party to be had, she would spend her hours reading about romance and true love. Tommie was the proud grandmother to four, great-grandmother to eleven (three of whom were step-great-grand children), and a great-great-grandmother to one. The viewing will be held at the Hardage Giddens Funeral Home in the Edgewood Chapel Monday, November 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, November 16th, at the Lakeshore Presbyterian church located at 2270 Blanding Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32210. A graveside service will follow at the Riverside Memorial Cemetery. Tommie was a very special lady who was a friend to all. She will be missed beyond words. Forever and always, we will love you Granny.