Cleo (Jensen) Eldredge

Cleo Jensen Eldredge left this world on March 16, 2024 and entered her version of heaven; a place with an endless supply of yellow acrylic paint, brushes and canvas, and a piano where she can play “Deep Purple”, and “Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home” in its' entirety.  What a blessing for her to finally see, hear, and remember again, as well as meet many family members and friends who greeted her on her arrival.  

Cleo was born July 26, 1929 in East Garland, Box Elder County, Utah to Hyrum Elmer Jensen and Hannah Jane Isaacsen. Cleo was raised in Garland and graduated from Bear River High School in 1947. She married her high school sweetheart, Richard Eldredge from Thatcher, UT in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple on August 29, 1949. They moved to Twin Falls, ID where Nancy, David and Annette were born; and Pocatello, ID where Lisa was born.  In 1966 they moved to Concord, CA, but spent the majority of their married life in Pleasanton, CA. They moved to Portland, OR in 2017 to be closer to family.

Cleo loved her homemaking role, and loved furnishing and decorating her home with crafts, and her own personal artwork.  She was employed by Kentucky Fried Chicken in the office/training, was a switchboard operator for Liberty House Stores, and worked at a Credit Card Clearing House.  She used her earnings to create a beautiful home for her family.

Richard and Cleo loved to travel and visited various domestic destinations as well as European and Scandanavian sites.  They took many vacations with family and friends and traveled often to see their children and grandchildren whenever possible.

Cleo exemplified a love of life, especially for her grandchildren.  She loved playing cards (family favorite was Skip Cleo - adapted from the card game Skip-Bo), gardening, snail hunting with the grandkids, painting, playing the piano and decorating her home, to name a few.  

She always had a gleam in her eye looking for ways to get into mischief with friends, children/grandchildren, neighbors and family.  

She developed a love of art early in life and was still wanting to "move that picture to the left" until a few days before she passed. She painted landscapes, portraits (Cleaver the dog & Joe the Crow), and loved tole painting and stenciling.  She painted flowers and greenery on the fence outside her kitchen window, rugs on the patio floor, she painted a back door on the back door of her kitchen, mailboxes, a pig on the front of her dishwasher, and crackers & spilt milk on cabinets and kitchen tops. Dad said he was afraid to take a nap and possibly wake up with a strawberry painted on his forehead!

Cleo loved to play the piano and had a family player piano her grandma Isaacsen bought from a traveling salesman when she was little.  Her favorite piano rollers were "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", “Beer Barrel Polka”, and “Listen to the Mockingbird”. She could play and remember the first few bars of "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home" up until weeks before her death.

Cleo's recipe for Cherry Chocolate (Pink) Ice Cream was a coveted family recipe along with carmel popcorn balls.  She instilled a love of reading and gardening in her children.

She is preceded in death by her parents Elmer & Hannah Jensen, sister Karma Archibald, and brother Robert Jensen.
She is survived by Richard Eldredge (husband); brother Stephen (Maureen) Jensen; children Nancy Smith, Knoxville, TN; David (Jan) Eldredge, Welches, OR; Annette (Daniel) Dalling, Happy Valley, OR; and Lisa Jensen (John Bottorff), Pleasant Grove, UT; 12 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Cleo will be interred in Twin Falls, ID at a date to be determined later.

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