Lavonne Schultz

LaVonne was born Jan. 14, 1924, to Sylvester and Helen Carroll Schilling in the family home near Raymond, Iowa. LaVonne grew up on farms in and around Black Hawk County, Iowa, helping supervise her younger siblings and helping with the farm. She walked to one-room country schools for her elementary education and then attended Sacred Heart High School in Waterloo, where she graduated in 1941. During World War II, she worked at the Rath Packing Co. in Waterloo. After the war, she began dating Robert O. Schultz, whom she had known during high school, and they were married on Feb. 26, 1946, at St. John's Catholic Church in Waterloo. They were married for 64 years until his death in 2010. The couple attended St. Mary's Catholic Church where LaVonne was active in the Rosary Society and Cub Scouts. In their younger years, the couple enjoyed dances at the Eagles Club and the John Deere Supervisors Club. After her children entered school, LaVonne worked at Columbus High School and later at Farr Beverage Co. and Keller-Apex Loan Co. In later years, LaVonne and Bob attended Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
Although she suffered from a hearing impairment her entire life, LaVonne loved to entertain and was an excellent cook. She hosted many barbecues at the family's cottage on the Wapsipinicon River near Independence, as well as many card games and potlucks with friends and neighbors at their homes on Hope Street and later Bourland Avenue in Waterloo. She delighted in her extended family and kept up with family news through letters and even email. She enjoyed flower and vegetable gardening and following current events, reading the Waterloo Courier daily for many years. After retirement, LaVonne and Bob traveled widely both in their motor home and through organized tours. Together, they visited every state in the union, as well as much of Europe, trips that she documented with extensive journals and photo albums. In later years, she suffered from Parkinson's Disease. She lived in Waterloo until moving to Springfield, Mo., in 2007.
LaVonne was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; three sisters, and one granddaughter. She is survived by five children: Richard of Schererville, Indiana; Judith (Daubenmier) of Brighton, Michigan; Robert of Fremont, Nebraska; Kenneth of Springfield, Missouri, and Steven of Omaha, Nebraska; one brother, Don Schilling, of Evansdale, Iowa; 12 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren, and one step-grandchild, as well as 23 nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be Saturday, Feb. 23, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Hagarty Waychoff Garup Funeral Home, followed by a funeral mass at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and burial at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, all in Waterloo, Iowa.