Maria Cleveland

Maria Cleveland, age 89, passed away on Sunday, December 6, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada, shortly after listening to Catholic Mass. She was born on November 24, 1931 in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines to Andres de Jesus and Crispina David Garcia. One of six siblings, Maria is survived by her older sister, Flora Lagdameo; six children: Dana Shepard, Marylou Wery, James Cleveland, Andy Cleveland, Kenneth Cleveland, and Crispina Stoltz-Holmes; as well as 16 grandchildren and over 20 great-grandchildren.

The headstrong matriarch of the Cleveland family, Maria organized many Christmas gatherings at her home in Salcha, Alaska to the delight of her numerous grandchildren. Before moving to Alaska in 1976, she married William “Bill” Cleveland, a U.S. Coast Guardsman stationed at Sangley Point Naval Base, in the Republic of the Philippines; and moved to Houston, Texas in 1955. She also obtained her U.S. citizenship in 1969. Alaska became her home for nearly 40 years, before spending her remaining years in Las Vegas, Nevada in the care of her daughter and son-in-law, Marylou and Mike Wery.

Family and friends would agree that Maria was as colorful as her life. She always knew how to show up to someone’s home or party in style with her signature mink coat and Mae West-like quips. Maria was fiercely independent and relished working. She worked in retail on Eielson AFB, Alaska for over a decade and then became popular with the “kids” working at the local McDonald’s in North Pole, Alaska before finally retiring. Maria’s love for family and work was matched only by her affinity for black-and-white Hollywood Classics.

Maria is preceded in death by her husband, Bill who passed away in 2003; her siblings: Juanito Garcia, Cristina Mangalindan, Virginia Cruz, and Cecilia Garcia; and her grandson, Michael John Stoltz II.

Memorial services in Fairbanks, Alaska will be determined at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Research Foundation .

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmboulderhighway.com for the Cleveland family.