William P. Cleaver

William P. Cleaver William Pennington Cleaver passed away peacefully at home on September 9, 2012, two months prior to his 98th birthday. A private graveside service was held on September 11, 2012 at Old Tennent Cemetery in Manalapan, NJ. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 13 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranford, 11 Springfield Ave, Cranford, NJ. Arrangements by Gray Memorial, Cranford. For on line condolences go to gray funeral homes.com Bill was born in Newark, NJ on November 13, 1914, to the late Chester and Mildred Cleaver. He grew up in Asbury Park, NJ where he attended school until he entered Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania in the fall of 1930. He graduated cum laude from Mercersburg Academy in the spring of 1933 and entered Princeton University from which he proudly graduated in June 1937. Bill had an outstanding career in the sugar industry. After graduation from Princeton, he joined the American Sugar Refining Company, later known as Amstar. After a one year training course, he was assigned to an administrative position at the Philadelphia Refinery until 1940 and then transferred to the New York office in the Raw Sugar Department. During WWII he became an essential food provider and was promoted to Vice President. In 1975, he became President of the American Sugar Division which embraced all of the cane sugar activities of Amstar. In 1978, he was the recipient of the prestigious Dyer Memorial Sugar Man of the Year award. He worked at Amstar for 42 years before he retired in 1979. Bill married Virginia Whaley of Baltimore in Mercersburg Academy Chapel on April 15, 1938. They moved from Philadelphia to Plainfield in 1940 where their daughter Janie was born. The family settled in Cranford in 1948. Bill was a loyal alumnus of Mercersburg Academy and Princeton and attended many annual reunions. He was an active member of the Princeton Class of 1937 and served as Co-President and Treasurer of the Class. In June 2012, he attended his 75th Princeton Reunion. As hobbies, Bill inherited his mother's artistic talent and excelled at photography, woodworking and other hand crafts. He taught himself home repairs and was a skilled workman. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranford for 63 years. Bill was a devoted husband, loving father and a kind, caring and generous person to all who knew him. He leaves to cherish his memory his beloved daughter Janie, a first cousin, two nieces, and a nephew. He will live on in our hearts. The family requests that donations in Bill's memory be made to Princeton University, Mercersburg Academy or Raphael's Life House of Elizabeth.