WALDRON, LaVonne (Bersie) Jacobson --- 1924-2010
SELNESS, BERSIE, JACOBSON, WALDRON, OWENS, GEPPERT, TADE, STRAND, BENJAMIN, ENGEN, PINT, BARGE
Posted By: IA GenWeb Volunteer
Date: 12/19/2010 at 20:09:09
LaVonne Waldron
LaVonne Jacobson Waldron, age 86, of Decorah died Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at the Ossian Senior Hospice in Ossian. Funeral Services were held Saturday, November 13 at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church, Decorah, with Pastor Mark Kvale officiating. Interment was in North Washington Prairie Lutheran Cemetery, Decorah.
LaVonne MaryAnn (Bersie) Jacobson Waldron was born of Norwegian heritage August 13, 1924, the daughter of Bennett and Bena (Selness) Bersie in Mabel, MN. LaVonne “Onne” graduated from Decorah High School in 1941 and upon graduation got a job at the Decorah Journal. After WW II began she moved to St. Paul, MN and got a job tracking railroad boxcars for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (later known as 3M). During the war she felt it was her patriotic duty to correspond with as many Decorah-area GIs as possible.
LaVonne married Kenneth (Kenny) Arnold Jacobson April 27, 1946 in Decorah, and to this union six children were born. In their early years of marriage, Onne and Kenny alternated between farming in Winneshiek County and operating their restaurant, the OK Café, first in Waukon and later Decorah. In 1961, they moved to Waterloo and operated the Jacobson Café, until 1966.
Using her outgoing personality and people skills, LaVonne worked full time as a Tupperware Home Parties sales rep and soon became a manager. After 20 years with Tupperware, she transitioned to Watkins Products. Her work in direct sales gave her the flexibility she enjoyed and allowed her to visit her six children and grandchildren in six different states. Grandma Onne made it a point to be there to help with each new grandchild - from Hawaii to Germany, with California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota and Iowa in between. In her semi-retirement years she continued to use those skills in homecare by providing homecare for elderly people.
In 1986, she retired and moved to Lansing, giving her the opportunity to pursue her life-long love of fishing on the Mississippi River. Here she met Bill Waldron and they married October 6, 1989. They lived in Waukon, where she remained until 1998 when she moved back to Decorah. In 2001 she moved to Ossian and lived at the Ossian Senior Hospice until her death. LaVonne was a member of the Washington Prairie Lutheran Church and the VFW Auxiliary, where she was a lifetime member.
LaVonne’s survivors include her six children, Thomas Ragnvald Jacobson of Ossian, Rebecca Ann (Gary) Owens of Durham, NC, Cynthia Louise Jacobson of Ossian, Margo Jacobson (Tim) Geppert of Fort Collins, CO, Susan Jacobson (James) Tade of Minneapolis, MN, and David Scott Jacobson of Omaha, NE; 11 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and one sister, Helen Bersie Strand of Decorah.
LaVonne was preceded in death by her parents, Bennett and Bena (Selness) Bersie; her two husbands, Kenneth Jacobson, June 30, 1974, and Bill Waldron, March 19, 1992; one granddaughter, Tammy Owens, March 2, 2010; four sisters, Bernice (Bob) Benjamin, Hattie (Alert) Engen, Marcella (Joe) Pint, and Gertrude (H.H.) Barge; and one brother, Harlan (Marge) Bersie.
Honorary casketbearers were the Decorah High School Class of 1941. Casketbearers were Jeff Ode, Jeremy Ode, Adam Strand, Kevin Ellingson, Soren Jacobson and James Daniel. Schluter-Balik Funeral Home of Decorah assisted the family with arrangements.The Waukon Standard, November 17, 2010
Allamakee Obituaries maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
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