LaVaun Hodges Obituary

LaVaun Mildred Hodges, 91, daughter of Wilber & Fern (Barker) Moorhead, was born on May 12, 1929 in a farmhouse near Redfield, Iowa. She passed away Saturday, December 12, 2020 at Spurgeon Manor in Dallas Center, Iowa.
When LaVaun was five, her mother died from a blood clot which developed following the birth of LaVaun’s brother, Derall Dean, who also died. LaVaun’s older sister, Wanda Lucille, had previously died at the age of three. LaVaun and her sister Merna were raised by her mother’s parents, George and Elmira Barker south of Panora. LaVaun worked at the Panora drug store fountain and detassled corn as a teenager. She graduated from high school in 1946. LaVaun briefly taught country school at Cass #6 after graduation.
LaVaun met John Hodges while attending Panora school. They married on October 17, 1947. They lived east of Panora where daughter Patrecia Ann and son Michael John were born. They moved to a farm northwest of Yale in 1952 where their youngest daughter Joy LaVaun was born. In 1975, they purchased 80 acres north of Panora along Hwy 4 where they lived until John died on March 18, 1992. LaVaun briefly worked as a nurses aide at the Guthrie Center nursing home. She also lived in Jefferson, Loveland, CO near her daughter Joy, and at Lakeside Village at Lake Panorama before she moved to Spurgeon Manor in Dallas Center when her health began to deteriorate.
LaVaun enjoyed flower gardening, playing her organ, painting, puzzles and games such as Skipbo, Bingo, and Bridge.
LaVaun is survived by her daughter, Patrecia (William) Emley of Slater; son, Michael (Susan) Hodges of Marshalltown; and daughter, Joy (Alan) Barnhart of Loveland, CO. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Troy (Jordan) Emley of Independence and their children, Nolan, Elizabeth, and Spencer; Greg (Carly) Hodges of Coralville, and their children, Kaitlyn and Tyler; Jeff (Meghan) Hodges of Northbrook, IL, and their children, Bennett, Mollie, and Kellan; Stacie (Matt) Kemp of Chicago, IL; Carrie (William) Difilippantonio of Virginia Beach, VA, and her children, Kaila Lynch of Loveland and Christopher Lynch of Virginia Beach. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband John, siblings, and a great-grandchild Christian Randall Zwiebel.
Private family services will be Wednesday, December 16, 2020 at the Twigg Funeral Home, Panora. Burial will be in the Brethren Cemetery, Panora.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be left to the Panora First Christian Church or to the discretion of the family.