Kenneth Weaver Cleveland

Indianapolis ? Kenneth Weaver Cleveland was born two days before Christmas in 1952. He arrived early, and at the doctor's advice, spent his first weeks in a box atop the radiator in his parents' house in Troy, Ohio. He would later joke that being confined to the radiator was the reason he was so eccentric as an adult.

Ken attended Concord and Edwards elementary schools, Van Cleve Junior High, and Troy High School. As a freshman, he began dating Linda Pautsch, a sophomore. After graduating in 1971, Ken followed Linda to Butler University, where he would become a resident assistant and a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He and Linda married on June 8, 1974.

After Ken's graduation in 1975, the Clevelands moved to Tipp City, Ohio, where Ken worked for the Pautsch family business, Industry Products Company. In 1981, he became the president of the company, a position he held until 2000.

During that time, Ken and Linda had three children: Joscelyne (Josie) Renee, Kenneth Michael (Mike), and Stefan Daniel. In 1990, the family moved to Springboro, Ohio, to be closer to the Miami Valley School, where the kids were enrolled. Although Ken and Linda divorced in 2001, they cultivated a loving and respectful family dynamic and took great pride in their kids' accomplishments.

Between 2005 and 2022, Ken successfully battled three types of cancer: colon, prostate, and lymphoma. The colon cancer was the most serious, and a series of operations left him without a belly button-his grandchildren later found this very funny.

In 2017, Ken relocated to Indianapolis to be closer to his daughter's family. It was in this chapter of life that he really came to know and be at peace with himself. In addition to being a daily and positive presence in his grandchildren's lives, he also began working at Holy Cross Lutheran School, taking art classes, and playing what most people would consider too much golf. He traveled often to visit Mike's family in New Mexico and Stefan in Seattle. Because he hated flying, he would drive "out West," which allowed him to make his own schedule and bring his golf clubs.

In August 2023, he was headed home after visiting Mike, his sister Charlene, and Stefan, when he died in a car accident near Reliance, South Dakota.

Ken's sudden and tragic death came as a shock to those who survive him: his children Josie Breving (Mark Breving), Mike Cleveland (Whitney Spivey), and Stefan Cleveland; his grandchildren Morgan Breving, Sutton Breving, Ethan Breving, Harper Breving, Lane Cleveland, and Scout Cleveland; his sisters Charlene Rock and Francine Massie; and his ex-wife-turned-dear-friend Linda Cleveland.

Ken is preceded in death by his parents, Mary Weaver and Ernest Cleveland.

A celebration of life is planned from 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 9, at the Breving's home in Indianapolis. For details, email inyourmemory8.15.23@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the neurodiversity program at Holy Cross Lutheran School.