Obituary for Charles W. Van Cleave, Jr. Charles W. Van Cleave, Jr., 71, died on December 6, 2018 after battling lung cancer for the past year. He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles W. Van Cleave, Sr. and Helen Grant Van Cleave, his half-sister, Alberta Kraus, and his brother Danny R. Van Cleave. He is survived by his loving wife of 46 years, Mary Lee (Buehner) Van Cleave, brother-in-laws Tom, Jerry (Connie) and Denny (Rita) Buehner, sister-in-law Dianne Rucker, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mr. Van Cleave was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and grew up in the south end where he attended Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic School and Southern Junior High School. He graduated from Ahrens Trade School where he learned drafting. He applied this trade and worked 40 years in the material handling industry starting as a draftsman at the former Logan Company and draftsman and project manager at Interlake (formerly A. J. Bayer).
He was hired by Kosan Crisplant, located in Aarhus, Denmark, as a Project Manager when it started operations in 1985 in the United States in Frederick, Maryland. As the company grew its operations in the United States, Mr. Van Cleave was instrumental in the expansion of project management and the development of the engineering department. He retired from its successor company, FKI Logistics Crisplant, as the Vice-President of Engineering in December 2005.
Over the 20 years he worked in Maryland, he traveled extensively in both Europe and the United States overseeing numerous material handling projects for large distribution centers, postal services, airports, etc. Along the way, he met many customers and colleagues who remain friends today. Mr. Van Cleave was a veteran of the United States Air Force Reserves.
He liked playing golf and was a member of the Midland Trail Golf Club. He also was a member of the National Street Rod Association and enjoyed going to car shows in Louisville and throughout the United States. The Van Cleave and Buehner families would like to express their thanks to the nurses and Social Worker from Hosparus Health Louisville and to the caregivers at the Franciscan Health Care Center for their kindness and efforts to ensure Mr. Van Cleave was comfortable during the last days of his life.
Also, the families would like to thank the doctors and nursing staff at the Norton Cancer Institute for their care and support during the year-long treatment of Mr. Van Cleave. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Community, 7813 Shelbyville Road on Tuesday, December 11, 2018, at 10:00 AM. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery, 1600 Newburg Road.
Visitation will be at Ratterman Brothers Funeral Home, 3711 Lexington Road, from 3:00 to 8:00 PM on Monday, December 10, 2018. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to the charity of your choice. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Charles W. Van Cleave, Jr. please visit our Sympathy Store.
Upcoming Events Visitation , DEC 10. 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM Ratterman Brothers Funeral Home St Matthews 3711 Lexington Rd. Louisville, KY, US, 40207 admin@rattermans.com rattermanbrothers.com Order Flowers for the Visitation Guaranteed delivery before Charles’ Visitation begins.
Funeral Mass , DEC 11. 10:00 AM St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church 7813 Shelbyville Road Louisville, KY, US, 40223 Order Flowers for the Funeral Mass Guaranteed delivery before Charles’ Funeral Mass begins.
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