Cleora M Finley

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, December 16, 2017 in Howe and Yockey Funeral Home, Shelbyville, IL with Rev. Kevin Ray officiating. Visitation will be from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in Glenwood Cemetery, Shelbyville, IL. Memorials may be given to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Alzheimer’s Association.

Mrs. Finley was born on August 5, 1919 in Lamoni, Iowa, the daughter of George Caspery and Bess (Gormon) Clements. The family moved to Warrensburg, MO, where Cleora graduated from high school in May 1936 and Central Missouri State College in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science degree in music. After teaching in Concordia and Sedalia, MO, she married Carl Straten Finley on March 1, 1942, in Warrensburg, MO. She taught at Central Missouri State College when Carl was inducted into the Army. When Carl’s time in the service was complete, they moved to Boulder, CO to finish their education. From Boulder, they went to Bayard, NE, to teach. In 1948, they moved to Shelbyville, IL, where Cleora taught music and then second grade until she retired in 1975. She loved music, golf, bridge and reading. She often said, “I would hate to live a life without music.”

She is survived by her daughter, Jileen Eisele and special friend Billy of Shelbyville, IL; grandson, Jason Eisele and wife Stefanie of Chatham, IL; granddaughter, Jessica Eisele of Palmyra, IL; eight great grandchildren and one more on the way; and sister, Wanda Brown and husband Bill of Plantation, FL.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and her beloved husband, Carl in 2010.

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