Cleo Wilson passed away peacefully on May, 17, 2018 at The Pavilion at Great Hills, in Austin, Texas at the age of 99.
Cleo was born June 12, 1918 to Harvey and Bertha Whitman Hutto of Bertram, Texas. After High School graduation she attended Beauty College in Austin and worked for a time as a beautician. Later she returned to work in a bank at Bertram. She got to know J.O. Wilson when he hit a baseball that broke her finger. She and J.O. were married November 19, 1939 while she was a cashier at Farmer’s State Bank. They moved to Austin in 1945. She and J.O. had two daughters, Martha Wilson Althaus and Barbara Wilson Compton. The family joined Memorial United Methodist Church in the mid 1950’s.
Cleo was an active member of Memorial Methodist Church for many years and enjoyed serving on The Kitchen Committee, helping with Vacation Bible School, working on getting the newsletter ready to be mailed (even into her 90’s), attending the Women’s Society, leading and playing cards with the over 55 group, and being a Sunday Morning Greeter.
She was the true “40’s” housewife fixing three hot meals every day for her husband; taking care of her daughters; sewing their clothes (including a wedding dress); washing, hanging laundry on the clothesline outside, and then ironing everything. When her daughters married, she gained the sons she never had, and treated the new husbands as sons. After J.O. retired, they enjoyed travelling to Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, and many states.
1995 was both a happy and a very sad year in that two of her grandchildren were married, but very sad because her husband of 55 years died in April. In 2012, she lost her younger daughter Barbara Wilson Compton to cancer. That was her most challenging time. Cleo drove until she was 93 and lived alone in her house until she moved into The Pavilion at Great Hills in 2013. Even with two broken hips, a broken back, a broken pelvis, and eleven arterial stents, she stayed as active as possible and enjoyed physical therapy, playing Skip-Bo and Bingo with her Pavilion friends, and visiting with her Memorial friends and family.
She loved and was loved by her six grandchildren. In addition she loved and was loved, amused and entertained by her great grandchildren. She loved playing Canasta and “42” with family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband J.O., her daughter, Barbara, three brothers, Cecil, Euel, and her twin, Clyde, and one great grandchild Justin Matthew Althaus. She is survived by one daughter, Martha Althaus and husband Steve, son-in-law Robert Compton, six grandchildren; Greg Althaus and wife Lori, Staci DeKunder and husband Greg, Janna Dake and husband Jason, Chris Compton and wife Emily, Jennifer Compton, and Atesha Compton and Michael Dean, and great grandchildren; Ashlynn and Avery Althaus, Ella, Audrey and Megan DeKunder, Jared and Jacob Dake, Etta Compton and Jonas Estrada, and Iris Compton Dean.
Visitation will be held on May, 27, 2018 at 1:30 PM at Memorial United Methodist Church on Berkman Drive, Austin, Texas with funeral service following at 2:00PM. Interment will follow at Austin Memorial Park on Hancock Drive in Austin, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Cleo’s name to Memorial United Methodist Church.
