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 1956 - 2006 (49 years)
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| Name |
Barbara Sara Padell |
| Born |
22 Jul 1956 |
Queens, New York, United States  |
| Gender |
Female |
| Died |
15 Apr 2006 |
Nevada |
| Notes |
- A love of fast cars and driving them in the manner in which they were engineered might have cost Barbara Cleveland her life Saturday morning after she lost control of her silver Audi convertible on Highway 372, severing a power pole before her car rolled. She was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cleveland was part owner of Valley Homes with her husband David since 1994. They had fully owned the popular business on Highway 160 - easily recognizable to motorists thanks to the tall green giant that has stood in front of Valley Homes since 1999.
Power was interrupted to 360 meters for more than three hours, while Valley Electric Association replaced the power pole. Most stores on the commercial corridor south of Highway 372 were without power with the exception of the Pahrump Nugget and Smith's Food and Drug, which have backup generators.
David Cleveland, Barbara's husband for nearly 20 years, said his wife likely would have "walked away" from the accident had she been wearing her safety belt. "That was always a sore spot between us. I was always after her to wear her seat belt and to slow down."
According to Barbara Cleveland's sister, Linda Tadell, in a telephone interview from her home in Connecticut, Barbara was born July 22, 1956 in Queens, N.Y., and was raised on Long Island.
In her youth Barbara had an interest in acting and studied classical ballet. "She moved to New York City to try her hand at acting, but like so many actors, it didn't work out."
Barbara and David moved to Pahrump in the early 1990s where she continued to indulge her interests, such as NASCAR, doting on the eight cats the couple have, and "going above and beyond" to provide excellent customer service to the hundreds of Valley Homes customers over the years. She moved to Nevada in 1982.
"She loved her work," said Tadell, "and she loved her customers." Away from the job, Barbara enjoyed camping and fishing, and she loved to cook - and attended a cooking school in New York City.
As children, Barbara and Linda loved to sing for their grandparents. "Barbara was very funny, she could be a real clown," said Linda.
Preceded in death by her mother, who died of pancreatic cancer, Barbara became involved in the Pancreatic Cancer Network and served as the Nevada coordinator. That work led her to become involved in the fight against other cancers.
Her husband, David, her father Jerry Tadell of Pahrump, her sister Linda and a niece and nephew, Amanda and Glenn Greenberg, survive Cleveland.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Pahrump Winery.
On the Valley Homes Web site, Barbara's biography said she loved "gardening, cooking, photography, NASCAR and FAST CARS!"
Pahrump Family Mortuary handled the arrangements. Look in Friday's PVT for an interview with David Cleveland, who will speak of his wife as well as respond to the many rumors that surfaced following her tragic death.
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| Person ID |
I3168 |
Himelfarb Family Tree |
| Last Modified |
24 Oct 2007 |
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