Cleora (Reuscher) Flegel
21 April 2009
Services for Cleora Reuscher Flegel on April 29. She was co-founder of Flegels furniture store in Menlo Park.
Cleora (Reuscher) Flegel, who with her husband Arthur Flegel opened Flegels furniture store in downtown Menlo Park some 55 years ago, died Friday night, April 17, at her home in Menlo Park, surrounded by her family. She was 90.
A celebration of her life is set for 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park, Pastor Frank VanderZwan officiating.
Cleora was born in Ramona, Kansas, on June 5, 1918, to Emanuel and Mary (Schnell) Reuscher. In 1920, the family moved to Lodi, California, where she graduated from Lodi High School in 1936.
She met Arthur and they were married in Lodi on April 27, 1940. On April 27, they would have celebrated their 69th anniversary.
Settling in Menlo Park in March 1954 for the purpose of opening Flegels Home Furnishings, now under control of their son, Mark, they have been members of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church for 55 years.
They purchased their current home in Menlo Park in 1965 and lived there 44 years.
Cleora, more commonly known as Cleo, was blessed with a warm and winsome personality and easily made many friends in the MPPC Presbyterian Women's organization, along with a small group, which she especially enjoyed and called "The Birthday Girls."
Among her talents, Cleo's primary hobby, still-life oil painting, was a gift that will long keep her in the memory of her appreciative family.
With Arthur, she enjoyed membership in the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. As a result of several research trips to Germany and Russia, she was able to trace her ancestry back many generations to its places of origin.
Beginning in the 1960s, Cleo and Art enjoyed numerous educational experiences in trips all over the U.S. and Canada, Western and Eastern Europe, Siberia, Asia Minor, the Holy Land, North Africa, Japan, South America, New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific.
She is survived by her husband, Arthur; three sons: Robert, Mark and John; nine grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; three sisters; and one brother.
In addition to the flagship Menlo Park store, there are Flegels stores in San Rafael and San Ramon.
Webmaster notes:
Cleora Flegel's Reuscher family came to the United States from Norka, Russia.
Arthur E. and Cleora Reuscher Flegel were major donors for the 1999 award-winning television documentary, The Germans from Russia: Children of the Steppe, Children of the Prairie. The documentary is available from The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection.
A videotape of the Oral History Interview Series: Arthur E. & Cleora Reuscher Flegel is available from The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection.
