OBIT: Gloria Van Cleave

Gloria Van Cleave, 96, of Lago Vista, Texas, died peacefully on May 14, 2026. She was born in Brooklyn, NY on September 5, 1929, to John and Mary Marks.

She left New York to live with her Aunt Edith and Uncle Hardy in Bloomsburg, PA. She graduated as Valedictorian from Bloomsburg High School (Pennsylvania) in 1947. She was the head baton twirler and was voted Most Athletic. She left Bloomsburg to live with her Dad in New York and worked at a Parks and Recreation magazine. She put an ad in Variety magazine to join a traveling show as a trick rider with her horse.

While working at the magazine, a coworker pointed out that Hunter College was free to attend, so she enrolled. Unfortunately, life became more chaotic, so she signed up for the Navy. Because they were the first service to take on a flight.

Gloria was eventually assigned to Naval Air Station Kingsville in Texas. Her skills as an Electronic Technician put her in the position to head the shop. She offered transfers to any sailors in the shop who did not want to work for a woman and a few left. The next day, Charles “Chuck” Van Cleave, stuck his head in the door and said, “I heard you needed some help.”

After four years in the Navy, Gloria took advantage of the newly available GI Bill to attend the University of Texas, studying Electrical Engineering.

While in Austin, Gloria began looking for an apartment for herself when Chuck’s mom said, “Instead of looking for an apartment, why don’t we just plan a wedding?” Chuck and Gloria were married on September 1,1956. They were married 69 years.

After Gloria graduated, they moved to Maryland and worked for the Navy at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, where their daughters Tracey and Kelly were born. A few years later, they moved to California. Gloria was very accomplished working for the Navy at Point Mugu. She traveled extensively giving presentations on aviation and received one of the highest Naval civilian awards for her work. Their daughter Polly was born in California.

The Van Cleave family left California for Lago Vista, Texas. While there, Gloria assisted with a newspaper that had just started in the area. When the paper closed, Chuck and Gloria bought it and started “The North Lake Travis Log”. Gloria took all of the pictures for the paper, developed them, manually set the headlines, and wrote every article. She distributed it weekly to many communities for over seven years. One of those communities, Jonestown, appreciated her attention to their city so much that they officially declared June 18, 1988 “Gloria Van Cleave Day”.

Gloria loved her husband and family deeply, she loved horses and books, and she loved her time in the US Navy.

Gloria was preceded in death by her parents John and Mary Marks, her brother Roy, and her sister Jackie.

She is survived by her husband of 69 years Charles “Chuck” Van Cleave; her daughters Edith Tracey (George) Gouraud, Kelly Van Cleave, and Polly (Jack) Warring. She is also survived by her half-sister Lynn Swartzmann. Gloria was truly special to her many grandchildren Isaac, Sarah, Anna, Luke, Rebekah, Joshua, and Charles and Steven. She has three great grandchildren Antonio, Malakai, and Timotheo. Gloria is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.