HOPE
Theresa Hazel “Cleo” Fiddler Banister, 98, passed away on February 24, 2025. She was born December 12, 1926 in Fish Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada. After high school, Cleo moved away from the Fish Creek area to live in Saskatoon, Canada for a brief time, where she worked as a nurse’s aide and a variety of other jobs. She always had a yearning to travel and see the world. Cleo and her best friend, Linda Moreau, traveled extensively throughout Canada via train.
Cleo met the love of her life, William “Bill” Banister of Columbus, Indiana, when she was a waitress and hostess at a popular restaurant, New York Cafe, in Fort William (Thunder Bay), Ontario, in 1949. After a quick courtship, they married in Glencoe, Ontario on June 30, 1950. Cleo then became a U.S. citizen.
Cleo was a talented seamstress and antique furniture restorer. She enjoyed her many years in Purdue University Extension Clubs; she was a member of the Talley-Home Club and the A2Z Club, in which she served as President several times. She proved to be very good at crafting, joining the Arts and Crafts Club and participating in the Bartholomew County Fair, where she won several ribbons over the years. Cleo also participated in the local Craft Bazaar in Columbus and the Weekend Flea Market in Bargersville. In her spare time, she enjoyed buying at garage sales and auctions. Cleo was a member of Fairlawn Presbyterian Church.
She is survived by her children, Roger (Jan) Banister and Denise (John) Kocur. She also leaves grandchildren Paul (Christine) Banister, Adrienne Cantali, Laura (Joshua) Long, and Alison (Ian) Buck; great-grandchildren Cora Banister, Nolan Banister, Theodore Long, and Gwendolen Long.
She was preceded in death by her husband, after 70 years of marriage; her father and mother Henry Fiddler and Alexandra Kozar Fiddler; brothers Leonard Fiddler, Albert Fiddler, Oscar J. Fiddler, Gordon Fiddler, and Jerry Fiddler.
Visitation will be on March 1, 2025, Saturday from 10:00 am until the time of the funeral service at 11:00 am at Jewell-Rittman Family Funeral Home in Columbus, Indiana. Burial will be immediately after the service at Garland Brook Cemetery in Columbus.
The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made through the funeral home to Fairlawn Presbyterian Preschool, Columbus, Indiana, or Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators in Hope, Indiana.
You are invited to leave a condolence message, light a virtual candle, and view her video tribute online at www.iewellrittman.com.
The funeral service will be live-streamed at www.iewellrittmanfamily.com.
