Obituary, The Columbia Daily Tribune, June 28, 2012:
Joseph Kay "JK" or "Kay" Cleavinger, 85, of Moberly passed away Tuesday, June 26, 2012, at his home.
A remembrance gathering will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, June 29, at Cater Funeral Home.
He was born May 14, 1927, to Edna Streigal Cleavinger and Eugene Arthur Cleavinger in Burlington, Kan.
He graduated from Manhattan High School and was captain and quarterback of an undefeated state champion football team. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy and received an honorable discharge at the conclusion of World War II. After his service to his country, he enrolled at Kansas State University to study architecture. He also played football for the KSU Wildcats until he suffered a career-ending injuring against the Missouri Tigers. After studying at Kansas State and the University of Oregon, he graduated in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in architectural design from K State.
On Sept. 16, 1950, he married his wife of 61 years, Nancy Ann Schoonover. In 1952, they moved to Moberly, and he went to work as an associate architect for Ludwig Abt. They subsequently formed the partnership of Abt & Cleavinger, which eventually became J. Kay Cleavinger Architect & Associates. During his career, Cleavinger designed some of Moberly's most notable buildings, including Commerce Bank, Bank of America, the Moberly post office, the original St. Pius X School, and the Moberly police and fire stations. He also designed school buildings in many towns across northern Missouri. In the 1960s, Cleavinger helped spearhead the concept, design and development of the Moberly housing project, a seminal project that was emulated in other cities. In 1960, he was part of a group that formed St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Moberly. He served as senior warden of the church and as a lay reader until it closed in 2005.
Cleavinger lived a remarkable life. He had a passion for design and was heavily influenced by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and the German Bauhaus modernists. His interests ranged from art and photography to classical music and jazz. During his college years, he took up painting, and many of his watercolor pieces grace the homes of his surviving family members. He was an inveterate traveler, enthusiastically exploring new architectural works, museums and landscapes. He became a private pilot at age 40, took up snow skiing at age 60 and became a Master Gardner at age 80.
Kay is survived by his wife; and four sons, Kal and Ibolya of Moberly, Marc and Lisa of La Jolla, Calif., Scott of Moberly, and Peter and Catherine of Columbia. He had eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He also is survived by a brother, Hal of Sanford, N.C.; and a sister, Ann Smith of Chapel Hill of N.C.
Cleavinger was proud of his lifelong donations of blood to the American Red Cross, and the family requests that in lieu of flowers donations of blood be made to the Red Cross.
Joseph Kay "JK" or "Kay" Cleavinger, 85, of Moberly passed away Tuesday, June 26, 2012, at his home.
A remembrance gathering will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, June 29, at Cater Funeral Home.
He was born May 14, 1927, to Edna Streigal Cleavinger and Eugene Arthur Cleavinger in Burlington, Kan.
He graduated from Manhattan High School and was captain and quarterback of an undefeated state champion football team. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy and received an honorable discharge at the conclusion of World War II. After his service to his country, he enrolled at Kansas State University to study architecture. He also played football for the KSU Wildcats until he suffered a career-ending injuring against the Missouri Tigers. After studying at Kansas State and the University of Oregon, he graduated in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in architectural design from K State.
On Sept. 16, 1950, he married his wife of 61 years, Nancy Ann Schoonover. In 1952, they moved to Moberly, and he went to work as an associate architect for Ludwig Abt. They subsequently formed the partnership of Abt & Cleavinger, which eventually became J. Kay Cleavinger Architect & Associates. During his career, Cleavinger designed some of Moberly's most notable buildings, including Commerce Bank, Bank of America, the Moberly post office, the original St. Pius X School, and the Moberly police and fire stations. He also designed school buildings in many towns across northern Missouri. In the 1960s, Cleavinger helped spearhead the concept, design and development of the Moberly housing project, a seminal project that was emulated in other cities. In 1960, he was part of a group that formed St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Moberly. He served as senior warden of the church and as a lay reader until it closed in 2005.
Cleavinger lived a remarkable life. He had a passion for design and was heavily influenced by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and the German Bauhaus modernists. His interests ranged from art and photography to classical music and jazz. During his college years, he took up painting, and many of his watercolor pieces grace the homes of his surviving family members. He was an inveterate traveler, enthusiastically exploring new architectural works, museums and landscapes. He became a private pilot at age 40, took up snow skiing at age 60 and became a Master Gardner at age 80.
Kay is survived by his wife; and four sons, Kal and Ibolya of Moberly, Marc and Lisa of La Jolla, Calif., Scott of Moberly, and Peter and Catherine of Columbia. He had eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He also is survived by a brother, Hal of Sanford, N.C.; and a sister, Ann Smith of Chapel Hill of N.C.
Cleavinger was proud of his lifelong donations of blood to the American Red Cross, and the family requests that in lieu of flowers donations of blood be made to the Red Cross.
Obituary, The Columbia Daily Tribune, June 28, 2012:
Joseph Kay "JK" or "Kay" Cleavinger, 85, of Moberly passed away Tuesday, June 26, 2012, at his home.
A remembrance gathering will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, June 29, at Cater Funeral Home.
He was born May 14, 1927, to Edna Streigal Cleavinger and Eugene Arthur Cleavinger in Burlington, Kan.
He graduated from Manhattan High School and was captain and quarterback of an undefeated state champion football team. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy and received an honorable discharge at the conclusion of World War II. After his service to his country, he enrolled at Kansas State University to study architecture. He also played football for the KSU Wildcats until he suffered a career-ending injuring against the Missouri Tigers. After studying at Kansas State and the University of Oregon, he graduated in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in architectural design from K State.
On Sept. 16, 1950, he married his wife of 61 years, Nancy Ann Schoonover. In 1952, they moved to Moberly, and he went to work as an associate architect for Ludwig Abt. They subsequently formed the partnership of Abt & Cleavinger, which eventually became J. Kay Cleavinger Architect & Associates. During his career, Cleavinger designed some of Moberly's most notable buildings, including Commerce Bank, Bank of America, the Moberly post office, the original St. Pius X School, and the Moberly police and fire stations. He also designed school buildings in many towns across northern Missouri. In the 1960s, Cleavinger helped spearhead the concept, design and development of the Moberly housing project, a seminal project that was emulated in other cities. In 1960, he was part of a group that formed St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Moberly. He served as senior warden of the church and as a lay reader until it closed in 2005.
Cleavinger lived a remarkable life. He had a passion for design and was heavily influenced by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and the German Bauhaus modernists. His interests ranged from art and photography to classical music and jazz. During his college years, he took up painting, and many of his watercolor pieces grace the homes of his surviving family members. He was an inveterate traveler, enthusiastically exploring new architectural works, museums and landscapes. He became a private pilot at age 40, took up snow skiing at age 60 and became a Master Gardner at age 80.
Kay is survived by his wife; and four sons, Kal and Ibolya of Moberly, Marc and Lisa of La Jolla, Calif., Scott of Moberly, and Peter and Catherine of Columbia. He had eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He also is survived by a brother, Hal of Sanford, N.C.; and a sister, Ann Smith of Chapel Hill of N.C.
Cleavinger was proud of his lifelong donations of blood to the American Red Cross, and the family requests that in lieu of flowers donations of blood be made to the Red Cross.
Joseph Kay "JK" or "Kay" Cleavinger, 85, of Moberly passed away Tuesday, June 26, 2012, at his home.
A remembrance gathering will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, June 29, at Cater Funeral Home.
He was born May 14, 1927, to Edna Streigal Cleavinger and Eugene Arthur Cleavinger in Burlington, Kan.
He graduated from Manhattan High School and was captain and quarterback of an undefeated state champion football team. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy and received an honorable discharge at the conclusion of World War II. After his service to his country, he enrolled at Kansas State University to study architecture. He also played football for the KSU Wildcats until he suffered a career-ending injuring against the Missouri Tigers. After studying at Kansas State and the University of Oregon, he graduated in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in architectural design from K State.
On Sept. 16, 1950, he married his wife of 61 years, Nancy Ann Schoonover. In 1952, they moved to Moberly, and he went to work as an associate architect for Ludwig Abt. They subsequently formed the partnership of Abt & Cleavinger, which eventually became J. Kay Cleavinger Architect & Associates. During his career, Cleavinger designed some of Moberly's most notable buildings, including Commerce Bank, Bank of America, the Moberly post office, the original St. Pius X School, and the Moberly police and fire stations. He also designed school buildings in many towns across northern Missouri. In the 1960s, Cleavinger helped spearhead the concept, design and development of the Moberly housing project, a seminal project that was emulated in other cities. In 1960, he was part of a group that formed St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Moberly. He served as senior warden of the church and as a lay reader until it closed in 2005.
Cleavinger lived a remarkable life. He had a passion for design and was heavily influenced by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and the German Bauhaus modernists. His interests ranged from art and photography to classical music and jazz. During his college years, he took up painting, and many of his watercolor pieces grace the homes of his surviving family members. He was an inveterate traveler, enthusiastically exploring new architectural works, museums and landscapes. He became a private pilot at age 40, took up snow skiing at age 60 and became a Master Gardner at age 80.
Kay is survived by his wife; and four sons, Kal and Ibolya of Moberly, Marc and Lisa of La Jolla, Calif., Scott of Moberly, and Peter and Catherine of Columbia. He had eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He also is survived by a brother, Hal of Sanford, N.C.; and a sister, Ann Smith of Chapel Hill of N.C.
Cleavinger was proud of his lifelong donations of blood to the American Red Cross, and the family requests that in lieu of flowers donations of blood be made to the Red Cross.
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A MIGHTY OAK HAS FALLEN
