Bill Cleator’s Mother Dies at Age of 93

Frances Leeds Cleator, 93, the mother of mayoral candidate and San Diego City Councilman Bill Cleator, died Tuesday at Scripps Memorial Hospital after a long illness.

Mrs. Cleator, who came to San Diego by stagecoach from San Bernardino in 1899, was the widow of Chester Cleator, who served as marshal of San Diego’s first Municipal Court.

Her father, a sailor, had settled in San Bernardino after traveling to the West Coast from Boston by clipper ship during the late 1800s. A family heirloom is a first-place trophy that Mrs. Cleator won in 1907 for a foot race on the beach at the Hotel del Coronado.

Bill Cleator is the youngest of four sons, one of whom died earlier. Mrs. Cleator also is survived by sons Roy and Bob, nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Services will be private. The Cleator family requests that donations be made to the Thursday Club memorial garden club.

Bill Cleator will suspend his campaign appearances until Friday, requiring the cancellation or rescheduling of several debates with opponent Maureen O’Connor.