William “Bill” Cleaveland, 67, Mesa, Arizona
William Dale Cleaveland (Bill), 67, of Mesa, AZ, passed away in the early morning hours of Monday, December 29, 2025, after having struggled with dementia for many years.
Bill was born in Boone, IA, the seventh of eight children.
Bill graduated with honors from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and later became a Registered Professional Engineer. He spent a decade proudly building nuclear power plants in several states while employed with Bechtel. One day, while perusing graduate school entrance exam books at Barnes and Noble, Bill asked his wife if she thought he could go to law school. Thinking this was a theoretical question concerning her opinion of his intellect, she answered, “Of course!” It turned out Bill was serious and three years later, he graduated fifth in his law class, magna cum laude, from the Sandra Day O’Conner College of Law at Arizona State University. He clerked for two years on the Arizona Court of Appeals for the Honorable Judge Sarah D. Grant then enjoyed the challenge of Commercial Litigation for another decade before returning to Construction
Engineering.
Bill also served on the Tempe (AZ) Board of Adjustment and was a board member of the Gilbert (AZ) Small Business Alliance.
Along the way, Bill enjoyed building and flying radio-controlled model airplanes, training service dogs, volunteering with dog rescue organizations, planting roses and vegetables, and helping friends and neighbors with whatever they needed. Bill crafted the most creative and amazing Halloween costumes for his children.
Bill especially loved his two children and taught them they could learn anything, create anything, and do anything they wanted. He was very proud of them.
Bill is survived by his wife and two children, and seven brothers and sisters, and is preceded in death by his parents.
One sister described Bill as the ornery, pesky little brother, the engineer and lawyer scholar, the animal shelter dog walker, the annual spring gardener for his siblings, and the sweet, loving brother.
He was a good father and a good husband, a good son and brother.
He is missed.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at a future date.
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