Ila Jean (Bunch) Cleary

Ila Jean Cleary (Bunch), age 89, of Sarasota, Florida passed away on Thursday, July 13, 2023. Jean, as she was mostly called, cherished every name she was given; daughter, sister, wife, mother, Nana, and Nana Jean. These monikers mark her life’s journey beginning in a remote rural area, to living abroad, and finally to her resting place in Florida.

Jean had a modest childhood being raised in the lead belt region of the Missouri Ozarks. She fascinated her children and grandchildren with stories of attending a one room schoolhouse, living in a cabin heated only by a wood stove, and traveling to Church in a wagon drawn by a team of horses. By today’s standards it was a life of hardship, but her view of these beginnings as the daughter of Donald and Hester Thomlinson was anything but.

Jean’s stories of childhood were not about hardship. They were about the ability of families and communities to overcome life’s obstacles by banding together with joy, ingenuity, strength, and love; whether taking shelter from tornados in the closest neighbor’s storm cellar a half mile away; the postman driving her to the schoolhouse each day in his model ‘T’; being a sister to Donna, Kenny, and Linda as they sang in a gospel quartet for church, funerals, and on the radio; or the compassion the community shared at the passing of her infant brother Larry. The strength and faith gained from these early experiences were useful as she continued her life’s journey.

Life carried Jean to St. Louis Missouri for nursing school where a blind date with an Air Force military man, Peter Cleary, led to 60 plus years of marriage. How a country girl like Jean ever became the wife a city boy like Pete, born in the Bronx and raised on Staten Island is a mystery. Marrying Pete meant a military life of adventure and hardship. These experiences would offer many stories she later fascinated her grandchildren with. One such story was when she had to join Pete in Europe, crossing the ocean in a military transport twin-propeller Douglas DC-3 with her six small children, stopping in Iceland for gas and fresh goat’s milk.

These six children were all sons; Kevin(deceased) -spouse Sharon, Craig(deceased), Keith-spouse Debbie, Rusty, Cameron-spouse Pam, and Kelly-spouse Jackie. Jean cherished her role as mother and made homes for her ever-growing family in places ranging from Texas to England and Germany. After Pete retired from the military, Jean settled her family in Festus, MO to raise their sons. One by one these sons left home to start their own families. The departure of the last was followed by Jean and Pete moving to their final home in Sarasota, FL.

In Sarasota, Jean cherished her new name “Nana” or “Nana Jean” and was given joy by each of the thirteen grandchildren who knew her by those names. She fascinated each of these grandchildren with her life’s stories. In turn, Nana Jean’s stories may someday be shared with her twelve great-grandchildren. Each child, throughout her life, was considered by Jean to be a blessing from God. Jean cherished each of these children, and she also cherished relationships established while working in retail and as an assistant bank manager, as well as the bonds she forged with people she met through church.

The church that Jean last belonged was St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 5394 Midnight Pass Rd. on Siesta Key in Sarasota. A mass of Christian Burial for Ila Jean Cleary will be held there on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at 11:00 AM. A visitation for Jean (the daughter, sister, wife, mother, Nana, Nana Jean, friend, and co-worker) will be held at “Robert Toale and Sons Funeral Home - Wiegand Chapel”, 7454 S Tamiami Trl, Sarasota, FL 34231 on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. As Jean was oft heard to say, even to complete strangers, “God Bless!”

For online tributes, please visit www.rtsfunerals.com