John VanCleave

1929 - 2023

John "Ki" Van Cleave

John Van Cleave, 94 years old ("Ki" to his friends and family), died April 29th, 2023. He was born February 1 ,1929 at Evanston Hospital to Wallace and Katherine Van Cleave. John spent his childhood in Thompsonville, Michigan. He was preceded in death by his parents, two wives Caroline (Beals) Van Cleave and Kay (Rawlins) Van Cleave, and his two brothers Wallace Jr. and Peter. He is survived by his four children Robert (Barbara) Van Cleave of Cheyenne WY, Terry (Jim) Kelley of Renton WA, Brian (Patti) Van Cleave of Winnetka IL, Jim (Lynn) Van Cleave of Northbrook IL, 11 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. John attended Leelanau School in Glen Arbor, MI where he met and married his childhood sweetheart, Caroline, on October 4, 1952. They moved to Sunnyvale, CA and started their family. A few years later they relocated to Glencoe, IL where they raised their kids and had many happy years. Caroline died in 2001. John graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in business. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. After serving in the Army during the Korean Conflict he went to work for Kemper Insurance. He would eventually be President of Excess Underwriters, a subsidiary of Kemper. In the fall of 1981 John and Guy Calhoun founded Professional Managers Incorporated (PMI). PMI had a long and successful run underwriting professional liability insurance until the fall of 1999 when the company was sold, and John retired. John and his second wife Kay were married on Mackinaw Island, MI in 2002. John and Kay traveled extensively and had an active social life. They served together on the board of the Chicago Alzheimer's Association. Kay died in 2020. John greatly enjoyed socializing with his close friends and neighbors. Large parties and small get-togethers were commonplace. He loved to cook, creating top-notch dishes any chef would be proud of. John enjoyed gardening, sailing, golf and running. Skiing in Aspen was an annual family event for many years; he skied well into his seventies. He also relished his annual deer and duck hunting trips with close friends. John was an avid Cubs baseball fan. He had season tickets to Wrigley for many years. In Evanston, John and Caroline were recognized in the tailgate lot at Dyche Stadium for the most elaborate tailgates. A life-long Wildcat supporter, he attended Northwestern's 1996 appearance in the Rose Bowl. A memorial service celebrating John's life will be held at Winnetka Congregational Church, 725 Pine St., Winnetka IL on Saturday, July 29, 2023 at 10:30am. Interment is private. Memorial donations may be made to Presbyterian Homes/Geneva Foundation or Mesulam Center for Cognitive and Neurological and Alzheimer's Disease.