LaVerne Leeds was born Oct. 3, 1925 to Joseph and Mabel Arrasmith Leeds. He died Oct. 29, 1993 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Stratford, IA.
LaVerne served with the U.S. Navy in World War II aboard the repair and training ship USS Florikan in the Pacific Theater. At the time of his enlistment, he was living in Cherokee county, Iowa.
His Obituary: Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA - Nov. 2, 1993
LaVerne Leeds, 68, Stratford, died Oct. 29, 1993 at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames. Services were held on Monday at Stratford Baptist Church, Internment was in Oakwood Cemetery, northwest of Stratford. The Stark-Welin Funeral Home in Stratford was in charge of arrangements. Military graveside services were conducted by the American Legion Frederick Sonksen Post 576 of Stratford.
LaVerne Leeds, son of Joseph and Mabel (Arrasmith) Leeds, was born Oct. 3, 1925 in Larrabee. He attended Cleghorn Community School, before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1943 where he received his GED and attended Morningside College in Sioux City. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy on the submarine repair and training ship U.S.S. Florikan in the Pacific Theater.
On June 15, 1947, he married Pauline McCoy at Quimby. He had worked as a meat cutter and grocer in Spencer, Humboldt and Cherokee before moving to Quimby and Bode, where he was employed as a custodian in the Quimby Public Schools and Twin Rivers Consolidated School district. In 1968, the family moved to Kamrar where he owned and operated the Kamrar Grocery and Lean-To Cafe. He later purchased the grocery store in Blairsburg. He also had been employed as a State Food Inspector for the State of Iowa. He continued his meat cutting trade in Iowa Falls and Jewell before Dec. 1972, when the family moved to Stratford. He then owned and operated grocery stores in Stratford, Colo, Roland and Stanhope. For a time, he owned the Ostra Siden restaurant in Stratford and the bakery in Stanhope. In 1990, he retired from the grocery business.
He was a member of the Calvary United Methodist Church and American Legion Frederick Sonksen Post 576, both of Stratford; past-president of the Lions Club in Stratford and a charter member of the organization while living in Kamrar. He also served as a Boy Scout leader. He served on the school board for five years and the Community Development Committee. He was involved with the Stratford Development Corporation and was past president of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce. He received the Governor’s Award for leadership.
He is survived by his wife, Pauline; daughters and sons-in-law, Penny and Rick Woodard of Stratford, Kaylen Leeds of Pocahontas, Karla and Bruce Caquelin of Webster City, Kelly and Tom Wilson of Council Bluffs; sons and daughters-in-law, Calvin and Nora Leeds of Scottsbluff, neb., Kenneth and Rose Leeds of Red Lion, Penn., Kirk and Kim Leeds and Lyle and Diane Leeds, all of Stratford; 20 grandchildren; brother, Lloyd Leeds, Loren Leeds, Lowell Leeds, all of Kansas City, Mo., Leon Leeds of Sun Prairie, Wis., and Lewis Leeds of Cherokee; sisters Clayoma Bacon of St. Joseph, Mo., Elma Mosher of Scroggins, Texas, Carrie Clark of Denver, Colo and Viola Howell of Maitland, Fla.
Source: ancestry.com
