Kohnen, LaVonda M. (Olson) 1934-2003

HANSON, OLSON, KOHNEN, PLUMLEY

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 2/14/2004 at 14:50:18

LaVonda M. Kohnen

Telegraph Herald - Dec 6, 2003  

LaVonda M. Kohnen, 69, of 2911 Pinard St., passed away peacefully Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003, at home.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Matthew Lutheran Church. Burial will be in Linwood Cemetery. Friends may call from 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Egelhof, Siegert & Casper Westview Funeral Home, 2659 Kennedy Road. Friends also may call after 10 a.m. Monday at the church.

She was born on March 1, 1934, in St. Olaf, Iowa, daughter of Ira R. and Edna E. (Hanson) Olson. She was baptized and confirmed at Norway Lutheran Church, St. Olaf.

She graduated from grade school in St. Olaf. She then graduated from high school in Elkader, Iowa, in 1952.

She worked as a sales clerk and bookkeeper at Hughes Bakery in Elkader before moving to Dubuque in 1953. For the next six years, she worked at the former North Home Furniture Office, currently Flexsteel. She also worked at a variety of jobs in the fields of office work, restaurant and home health care during her life. She had great experiences working as an extra in several movies filmed in Dubuque during the 1970s and 1980s and also in the television series, "Mississippi."

She married Richard J. Kohnen on Oct. 6, 1956, at St. Raphael's Cathedral. Five children were born to this union, Laura (Steven) Plumley, Gregory (Dollie Erickson) Kohnen, Douglas (Diane) Kohnen and Karen Kohnen, all of Dubuque, and Terrence (Heather Anderson) Kohnen, of Dunlap, Ill.; four grandchildren, Scott and Nicole Plumley and Ryan and Casey Kohnen; two great-grandchildren, Cole and Austin Plumley. Also surviving is her mother, Edna, of McGregor, Iowa.

She was a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church and loved her church. She taught Sunday school for a number of years. She also was a member of St. Matthew WELCA, the Women's Bible Study Circle, St. Matthew's Food and Friendship and Luther Manor Auxiliary.

She was a financial coordinator for Thrivent Church Chapter, a monthly correspondent for many shut-ins and nursing home residents, and was involved in many other church-related activities and groups. She also was a tutor at St. Mark's Center in the 1990s for a number of years.

LaVonda loved embroidery, cooking, gardening, music and visiting shut-ins and nursing homes. Being with her family and friends was her favorite pastime. She also loved animals, especially watching and feeding birds.

She was preceded in death by her father.

In lieu of flowers, a LaVonda M. Kohnen Memorial Fund has been established.