Yesterday my mother-in-law left this life to be with her Lord. Dear Cleo has been a part of my life for the past 15 years and I must say she was one of the most incredible people I’ve ever known. So full of spunk, so incredibly smart & full of more energy than I could ever muster on a good day.

As a young woman Cleo was a trail blazer, leaving her home & community right after high school graduation with aspirations to become a registered nurse. She told me that young women just didn’t do these things back then & that her decision to do this was shocking in its day. Cleo went on to graduate from St. Luke’s School of Nursing in 1939 and indeed became a registered nurse who worked in private practice & eventually as a school nurse for Hoover Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

In 1942 she married John O’Keefe and Cleo became a farmer’s wife and had two children, Dennis (my husband, aka the Big D) and his younger sister Denise. Tragically in 1965 John was killed in a traffic accident, leaving Cleo to raise her two children alone. Those were hard times for Cleo and I remember her telling me that she just did what she had to do. Well, she did very well by her children and got to see her son go on to college and eventually become an aerospace engineer who helped put man on the moon & develop some of today’s aircraft flying in defense of our nation. Her two children brought her 6 grandchildren, whom she loved very much.

Cleo was loved and respected by everyone who knew her and I know that as the word of her passing spreads her family and friends will be sad. I know that I am. Thank you dear Cleo for all that you brought to my life, for your love and for accepting me & Mr. Matt. I will never forget you.

Love,
Dawn

When word reached me that we had lost our wonderful, amazing, treasured friend, Cleo, I was overwhelmed with memories of our Hoover School days – for Cleo was one of the Hoover School Girls – part of the Hoover School Family.
Around 1960, Hoover School was staffed with many “fresh out of college” teachers … and anchored by our Principal, Mr. Beusch, and our Nurse, Cleo O’Keefe. I thought they were both “older” – they must have been about thirty! Cleo was always happy, caring, focused on the students and willing to pick up the slack wherever she was needed. Oh! What a role model she was for young teachers!
In the 1960’s, the school nurse was charged with checking students for diabetes and Cleo would quite often show us some of the sample jars she received. She also had to weigh and measure each student – teachers as well! She never breathed a word about our weights – no matter how we tried to bribe her! And head lice – she had to check every head in school. Yes, teachers, too. We shared first days of school, music programs, jump rope, square dancing, recess, the bridge board, bus duty, bathroom checks and quick chats between classes. And we shared her Dennis and her Denise. How proud she was of you both!
Cleo had a marvelous adventure with life and lived it with a twinkle in her eyes behind those fantastic very cool large eyeglasses. All of us at Hoover School felt very fortunate to know her, to teach with her, to laugh with her as we shared in her journey of life.
Every year we plant daffodils in our woods in memory of friends and family members we have lost. Next fall, we will plant daffodils for Cleo … and in the spring they will bloom and shimmer in the woods and we will remember her – and smile. Today, as we gently fold Cleo’s signature glasses, we remember special times – joys shared – friendships cherished.
Janetha Girotto
Hoover School Music & P.E.
1960-1965