Lavonne Morgan, 82, of Atlantic, Iowa, passed away Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic.
Lavonne Lilly was born on February 24, 1942, three and a half miles northeast of Massena, Iowa, the daughter of Leslie Vernon and Mable Rosavera (Karas) Denney. She experienced the loss of loved ones early on; her dad at the age of seven and her sister, Loretta when she was 14. Lavonne attended school in Massena until her senior year when the family moved to Manson Iowa, where she graduated from high school; the Class of 1960. Following graduation, she studied horticulture and floral arranging at a community college in Cedar Rapids. Lavonne then moved to Des Moines where she worked at Look Magazine, for 7 years, until it closed, at which time she moved to Omaha for the next 19 years to be near her brother, Charles. While in Omaha she worked at insurance companies and also took on temporary positions, something she enjoyed due to the constant change of work tasks. She was married to Henry (Hank} Clarence Morgan for short time. As her health declined, she decided she wanted to be closer to home and moved to Anita where she worked occasional hours at the Green Door Diner. Later she came to Atlantic to be closer to the pharmacy, medical center and other amenities so she could continue living independently.
Lavonne’s faith was strong and she attended various Gospel Chapels, Atlantic Gospel Chapel being the most recent until her health restricted her attendance. She enjoyed singing, embroidery, drawing, painting and writing poetry, some of which she submitted to the local paper for publication. Lavonne loved cats and always had one as a companion, hence the reason she has such a large collections of cat related trinkets.
She is preceded in death by her father, Leslie Denney; mother, Mable Bicking; stepfather, Howard Bicking; sister, Loretta Denney; brothers and sisters-in-law, Irvin & Shirley Schwenke, Ivan & Cheri Schwenke, Leroy & Janet Schwenke, and Charles Schwenke; and two nieces, Ann Schwenke and Karen Brown.
Lavonne is survived by sister-in-law, Alda (wife of Charles) Schwenke; 15 nieces and nephews, Wanda Catterson, Gail Schwenke, Leanne Schwenke, Roy Schwenke, Roger Schwenke, Susan Jones, Jeff Schwenke, Janalee Caviness, Dean Schwenke, Bruce Schwenke, Craig Schwenke, David Schwkenke, Jason Schwenke, Trisha Schwenke, and Robyn Marchman; 32 great nieces and nephews, and 21 great-great-nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m., Monday, October 7th at the Massena Baptist Church in Massena, Iowa. Burial will immediately follow the service in the Massena Center Cemetery, north of Massena.
Memorials may be made to the family for later designation.
Roland Funeral Service Is caring for Lavonne’s family and her arrangements. Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.
