LaVonne 'Bonnie' (Buswell) Hawkins, 12 Sep 1937 -28 Feb 2021

HAWKINS, BUSWELL, KOENIG, THRONDSON, MCCOMB, CRANE, SCHMIDT

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 3/4/2021 at 15:07:24

LaVonne ("Bonnie") Buswell Hawkins passed away on Feb. 28, 2021, at her home, after a long illness. She was 83. She was most grateful to be able to spend her final days at home surrounded by dozens of family and friends.

Born to Gertude Marie Koenig and John Howard Buswell on Sept. 12, 1937, in Marengo, Iowa, LaVonne June Buswell attended school at Marengo Community School, and married Raymond Joseph Hawkins in 1954. LaVonne had three children and lived in Marengo, Carnsforth and rural Brooklyn.

She wore many hats, returning to school to get her license to work as a certified nurse's aide at Brooklyn and Montezuma funeral homes and as a cook at local truck stops. She was always available to help the neighbors on the farm. She was most known for her cooking, canning, gardening and sewing skills, her hard-working nature, and her vivid storytelling. After losing Raymond in 1989, she devoted her time to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, never missing any of their activities. When she wasn't traveling to support her family or babysitting the young ones, you could find her researching genealogy, knitting, or riding her lawnmower.

Preceded in death by her parents, her brother, her husband, and most recently her dog, Blackjack,

LaVonne is survived by her sisters, Donna Throndson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Sharon McComb of Colorado; her children, Vicky Crane and her husband, Rick, of Montezuma, Iowa, Paul Hawkins and his wife, Happy, of Montezuma, Joni Schmidt and her husband, Brent, of Malcom, Iowa; 13 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and many others who consider themselves in one of those groups.

Service will be held on Thursday, March 4, at 10 a.m. at St. John's Evangelical Church in Victor, Iowa. Burial will follow at Harmony Cemetery, up the road from Raymond and LaVonne's home in rural Brooklyn. A luncheon will follow at the Deep River Community Center.

Visitation will be Wednesday, March 3, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Kloster Funeral Home in Brooklyn. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association at www.heart.org. Online condolences: www.klosterfuneralhome.com

Published in The Gazette on March 2, 2021.