Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Cleta (Balcom) Robelia-Kirk passed away peacefully on March 4, 2020 at an adult family home in Wenatchee following a brief illness. She was the 11th of 14 children born to Gertrude and George Balcom on March 27, 1933 in Peach, Washington. The family settled in the Manson-Chelan area. Cleta attended school in Manson and graduated from Manson High School in 1952.
In 1953, she married Leo Robelia of Chelan Falls. They had two sons, Robert and Daniel.
In Cleta’s working life, she was an apple and pear packer at Chelan Falls Cold Storage and Beebe Warehouse as an apple and pear packer. She also spent 17 years working for Judy Jane Bakery. Her granddaughter said “they always had the best birthday cakes growing up.” She shared her love of sewing by making sure the apron pockets were always colorful too!
Cleta was always busy. Her many hobbies included gardening with her husband Leo (growing cotton in Chelan Falls!? and the most gorgeous dinner plate dahlias), hand stitched quilting, canning, embroidery, crosswords, watching wildlife, going out for coffee, and crocheting potholders and blankets that she loved to share.
Cleta’s quick wit and eternal sense of humor will be missed. She would share that peanut butter is wonderful on potato chips and pantyhose are great for everything! Jalapenos (and maybe hairspray) are the secret to a long life too. What’s life without laughter. Grandma, we will miss your smile and laughing with you!!!
Later in Cleta’s life, Wenatchee Wild fever took hold. She and her close friend Leanne attended every tryout, practice, game, playoff, television replay, and even traveled to B.C. to watch their ‘boys’ play. They were season ticket holders for over a decade. The friendships she made within the hockey community were a constant source of delight. She also loved sharing her quilting skills with the Wenatchee Wild by making quilts for aging out players and donating quilts for their charitable causes.
She was preceded in death by her husbands Leo Robelia and R.L. Kirk, and companion Ron Zitting, her parents, and several siblings.
She is survived by two sons; Robert (Karen) Robelia, Daniel (Lori) Robelia, one sister Ruth Collins and family, and brother Boyd Balcom and family, grandchildren Angie, Laura, Jenny, Aryn, Mitchell, and Kaylee, and great-grandchildren Owen, Georgia, Jude, Evelyn and Harper.
The family would like to thank Senior Delight Adult Family Home and Confluence Health and Home Health and Hospice services for their amazing job and the work you do every day. We would also like to extend a very special thank you to Leanne Harville for her many years of friendship and devoted care to Cleta. Thank you for taking her to hockey, Dizzy D’s, Lone Pine, and, of course, Dutch Bro’s.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wellness Place in Wenatchee; a wonderful resource our community has, and a place Cleta created and raffled quilt for or in her honor buy someone a hockey ticket.
Funeral arrangements are through Jones & Jones/Betts Funeral Home/Precht Rose Chapel, Wenatchee/Chelan, with memorial announcements to follow.
