Cleone Mary Dicus

Cleone Mary (Maxey) Dicus, 87, of Kingsley, IA, passed away Friday, October 11, 2024 in Sioux City. Cleone was blessed by God by passing away in her sleep, she did not suffer. A funeral mass will be held 5:00 p.m. Thursday, October 17, 2024 at Holy Spirit Retirement Home with Father Mark J. Stoll, Celebrant. A reception will follow, also at Holy Spirit Retirement Home. Visitation will be one hour prior to service time. Private family burial will be held Friday at St. Joseph Cemetery in Anthon, IA. Arrangements are under the direction of Nelson-Berger Northside Chapel. Online condolences can be expressed at www.meyerbroschapels.com.

Cleone was born May 31, 1937 in Sioux City, the daughter of James and Lucien (Vondrak) Maxey. She was raised in Sioux City and graduated from Bishop Heelan High School in 1956 where she was captain of the cheerleading squad. Cleone married Bill Dicus January 21, 1956 at St. Joseph Church. In 1956, the couple moved to Oakland, CA where Bill was stationed for the United States Navy and Cleone worked for the phone company. On June 14, 1957, the couple’s first son was born, Tony. Shortly after, Cleone and Tony moved back to Sioux City and moved in with her parents. When Bill finished his military service, he moved back to Sioux City and the family was reunited. They would later welcome another son, Jeff in 1960. Cleone began working at Northwestern Bell until her retirement 25 years later. She then worked at First National Bank for 5 more years until she retired again. She would later move to Climbing Hill in 1989, Sun City, TX in 2001, and finally Kingsley, IA in 2017.

Cleone was the cornerstone of her family. She was a master at cooking; she made special cakes for weddings, birthdays, and special events. She made breakfast every morning before school and would treat her family to a feast of pancakes, french toast, and bacon on the weekends. She was also an animal lover. The family lived on a farm and had many animals including two horses named DJ and Duke, two collies, cats, and cows. She also enjoyed planting flowers and mowing the farm. She even drove the Farmall tractor in parades! Cleone made fond memories with her sons while they ice skated at Hubbard Park in their youth. She was very talented and looked like a princess in her white skates with red and blue balls on the laces while her boys skated in double bladed ice skates. Cleone also enjoyed riding on motorcycles, exercising, dancing, and the smell of burning leaves.

Cleone was a devoted catholic. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and St. Michael Catholic Church.

Those left to honor her memory are her husband, Bill, of Sioux City; sons Jeff (Karen) Dicus of Sergeant Bluff and Tony Dicus of Sioux City; granddaughters Brooke Davis of Brandon, MS and Kassie Dicus of Morton, MS; great-granddaughter Alex Litchliten; sisters Caroline (Michael) of Tucson, AZ and Norma (Larry) of Omaha, NE; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Siouxland Humane Society at 1015 Triview Ave Sioux City, IA 51103 in Cleone’s name.