11/17/2024 10:00:00 AM
Eva Mae Cleator is 104 years old and has chased adventure for most of her life.
Born October 26, 1920 in Worthington, MN, Eva Mae Wellhausen graduated from Anoka High School in 1938. Growing up in “the little town of Anoka, I hadn’t experienced very much,” she said.
In the summer of 1943 at age 23, Eva Mae sought adventure and headed to Minneapolis with a friend to apply for jobs in Alaska. Instead of waiting for job interviews, the friends headed into a Marine Corps recruiting office. Thinking of the recruiters’ reaction, she says, “They were a little surprised to see us, but they were very cordial and accommodating.”
Following surprise and pride from friends and family about the decision to serve with the Marines, Eva Mae headed to Camp Lejune, NC for basic training that fall and was then assigned to work in motor transport. She shares that her father taught her how to drive in high school, which started a lifelong love of driving.
This assignment had Eva Mae driving Jeeps, buses and more. “My very first assignment was driving a bus toward Ashville. I was so scared! They gave me the bus and away I went!” She continues, “Not too many women in the military were driving like me … they may have been intimidated to drive that big equipment.”
While at Camp Lejune, Eva Mae got to travel to Washington, DC. “I suggest that anyone who has the opportunity goes to see Arlington (National Cemetery) and the sights there. You get a different feeling about the U.S.”
As her training continued, Eva Mae was stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA and continued to drive, making regular trips between the base and San Diego. She shares that everyone had a nickname, “Mine was Willy Mae, which was a play on my maiden name.” Eva Mae’s daughter, Merrie Schintgen, also noted the coincidence that early Jeep models were also known as “Willys.”
Reflecting on “several funny incidences” as a driver, Eva Mae says, “It was an adventure and new experience for me to be on a routine. I was overall impressed by the cooperation between all the different programs.”
Discharged from service in 1946, Eva Mae married high school classmate, Warren Cleator, who served in the Army. They moved to Germany that fall for Warren’s work with the federal civil service. Eva Mae says that people were very curious about how they were treated in Germany. “They were very friendly and helpful. We were sponsored by the government of course, but we had a baby and needed a crib, someone said they could make us a cradle.”
As their family grew, the Cleator’s moved to Anoka and raised four children. Speaking about volunteer work with her church and the American Legion, she says, “I didn’t have any trouble staying busy!”
Daughter Schintgen shares, “Mom has always been one to volunteer and serve others … from military to faith based. She is always the first one to step up and offer help, whether at a church dinner or in a program for single women with children.”
This commitment to service is something Eva Mae learned. Her dad and uncles served in World War I and she shares, “We passed along and suggested military service. My son was in the Army, and some of our grandchildren were in the Navy and Air Force.”
Schintgen remembers, “Growing up, we pestered her a bit about her service, but I don’t think we recognized how unique she was. That was just Mom, that’s just what mom did. It (military service) was just a part of who we were as a family. Generation after generation, we served.”
Eva Mae lived most of her life in Anoka, a place filled with fun memories like celebrating military service by participating in parades and being crowned the first queen of the Anoka High School’s all-class reunion 80 years after she graduated.
Today, Eva Mae lives with Shintgen in Aitkin, MN.
