LaVonne Smith

A celebration of life for Lavonne R. Smith, 70 of Winfield, will be held Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at Bethel Mennonite Church nearWayland.  A friend, Pastor Ryan Dexterwill be officiating. Burial of the cremains will be held at a later date in Idaho. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service on Tuesday, from 10-11 a.m. at the church. A memorial fund has been established for Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Winfield. Her family would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the staff at Sunrise Terrace for the compassionate and loving care that Lavonne received while she was there.

Lavonne Rae (Reed) Smith was born January 9, 1945 in Orfino, ID the daughter of Glen and Ollie Reed. Lavonne went to both Kamiah and Kooskia schools.  In 1962 she met and married Leonard Brown, with whom she had 4 children. The couple later divorced and in 1986 she married Larry Smith, and they resided in Silverton, OR until his death. In 2002 Lavonne relocated to Wayland, IA where she resided until 2011 when her health required her to move to Sunrise Terrace in Winfield, IA. She peacefully passed away at Sunrise Terrace on December 31, 2015.

Lavonne worked hard as a CNA and nurses aid in Nursing Homes most of her life. She completed her GED and was an faithful member of Bethel Mennonite Church. Lavonne enjoyed sharing her faith with others using her life experiences as a place to meet people in their pain introducing them to the healing love of Jesus. She had an amazing gift and ability to crochet figures, animals, and such without a pattern and she used that gift to support missions through fundraising plus giving multitudes of gifts to people around her. She always prayed  a blessing over each gift for the recipient. Lavonne believed her mission in life was to bring a smile to people.

Survivors include son Darren (Megan) Brown, Wayland, IA, brothers Bob & Ronnie Reed, 14 grandchildren & 24 great-grandchildren.

Proceeding Lavonne in death were her husband Larry, her parents, three children: Richard, Bradley & Kimberly Brown, two brothers: Wilbur Reed & Ed Reed, and one sister: Viola Reed Anderson.

Lavonne experienced more than her share of pain and tragedy. Today she would tell you that her faith in God was what gave her peace. She wanted the world to know that through her life sufferings, God was always there, never leaving or forsaking her.