Thank you all so VERY MUCH for your kind and loving words. There was so much more that I wanted to say about my HERO, L, but I couldn't do it at his service without crying,
Cleo was a giant of a man! As our granddaughters Amanda and Jennifer said when they were little and we were visiting them in Oregon "CLEO IS SO BRAVE! AND HANDSOME! AND STRONG!!:" I agreed and asked how they knew he was BRAVE! "Amanda said, "He's not afraid of LIGHTENING.......or NUTHIN !!" He loved watching that video--he always had a huge grin on his face watching it..he loved ALL our grandkids so deeply! I will write more--looks like I may be running out of space here, (NO, I'm not!) YEAYYY!
I met Cleo the first day I lived in Daytona--I told Julie there was a MACHO MAN" that worked at a condo we were going to rent, but I said "He's too old for you and too young for me..darn it! A few days later as I was "sunning" at the pool, he asked why my hair was so damaged and I told him I had been wearing wigs for years--he said his ex-wife Maxine was a hairdresser and they would fix me up--he said "We'll make you a sassy blonde!" (AND THEY DID!) He asked if I would have a phone in my name and I said yes--(we also agreed that neither of us would EVER remarry--thank goodness that wasn't the case!) So he phoned me a few weeks later and asked if I brought a long dress because he was inviting me to a formal dinner at the Shrine Temple in Orlando--I still thought he was too young for me, so I took his number and said "What a funny phone book I have--it asks for your date of birth!" It turned out that he was 4 years OLDER than I was!! YES!! I'll share that picture of our first date on request! A few weeks later, he said "I knew you were coming into my life--what took you so long??"
I bought some used furniture, and when he carried it up the steps and I saw those brawny muscles, I knew he was THE ONE! We were together for 9 months before we married, and he tried to talk me out of him==he said "I have nothing to offer you, You can get a RICH GUY!" I said "Don't tell me what I want! I WANT YOU!!" He said eventually that sometime when we go to Alabama, we'll stop in Georgia and get married so when we drove up to his niece (Denise's) wedding, we stopped and got married June 19, 1981 by a Judge in Ga. It was so hot that we didn't bother to change our clothes-I was wearning shorts and he was wearing jeans. At Denise and Oscar's wedding the next day, we were all dressed up and she insisted that we stand behind their cake with her bouquet (and other poses) He couldn't believe that on her special day she would want to share it that way! She loved him so very much, as did EVERYONE!
He insisted that we both get our real estate license, so we did. Eventually, we both got our Brokers licenses. Then, after working for other brokers for 7 years, we established Elinor Gray Realty Corp. and after a few years we had 5 lovely ladies working for us, and he named us "Cleo's Angels!"
Cleo was such a loving father to Gary Gray, his only son, and to MY kids, Daviid, Bill, Julie, Lisa and Ron--they all get along so well , and that means so much to me--I love them all so dearly! He was also such a loving grandfather to Shelby, Gary's son who was born here in 1993 and has been such a huge part of of our lives ever since. and he was also such a loving grandfather to all of MY kids "kids"--he wanted them to call him Cleo and even though they lived a long ways away, he cherished their visits and now even some GREAT-grandchildren that he never met in person, but would get such a big grin on his face looking at their pictures on Facebook!
Cleo was a master joke teller and a master drinkmixer! He was "famous" for his Bloody Marys at Shrine Conventions and Margaritas at our RiverHouse "Cheeseburger in Paradise" parties!
When the surgery team was wheeling my HERO into the O.R. on November 12, 2012, I told them that he wasn't just some Joe Blow--he was a VERY IMPORTANT PERSON--I said, "This man is a Shriner, A Veteran, a Patriot, A Legionnaire, and an Ex-Prizefighter "--when I said that, he drew his fists up and started punching the air--they loved it!
We lost my HERO, the love of my life, my best buddy and best friend on December 10,2012--I am just so VERY HAPPY that he didn't have to suffer. I will miss him every moment for the rest of my life!
If you read this, please leave a little note of how you remember this wonderful man--I also have a TERRIFIC DVD to share of him--his special
buddy that he named "Tonto" because he couldn't remember his name made a few extra copies for me--Tonto was trying to learn "Southern Dialect" from Cleo, and when Cleo said they had to stop at Ace Hardware to get a "BUB", Tonto asked him what a "BUB" was--Cleo said, "You put it in a LAMP!"
Cleo was a proud Alabama "boy" but he taught me that he was NOT a Redneck, but instead was a Southern Gentleman, in every sense of the word. Very respectful, charming, protective and loving. Defintely one of a kind!
