Emily Cletsoway

1928 - 2021

Emily Cletsoway
January 16, 1928 - March 20, 2021
San Luis Obispo, California - While Emily didn't make it to 107 (ever competitive, she had her sights set on living one year past the age of her great-aunt), she did manage to live an extraordinary 93 years.
A nurse, pilot, mother, avid quilter, and international cyclist, Emily was always up to something interesting and adventurous—and she had colorful stories to prove it. Some of her favorite recountings were about working with her mother on the Research Hospital maternity ward in Kansas City, learning to fly and maintain a Cessna 210, and bicycling across the US—twice! The home that she lovingly built in SLO was heavily influenced by her time in Japan, always full of her incredible baked goods and wildly colorful quilts, and frequented by her many friends and family.
Bill Cletsoway, the love of her life and husband of 56 years, passed in 2007. Emily never considered remarrying, saying, "once you've had the best…" She will undoubtedly be delighted to reunite with him and her son, Eric, who died in March of 2020.
Emily is survived by her daughter, Deborah, two granddaughters, Shoshanna and Rebecca, grandson-in-law Donavan, great-grandson, Damian, brother, Paul, and her close friends and neighbors that also always felt like family.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Bike SLO County (www.bikeslocounty.org/donate).