Lavon Darlene Lanphier

Lavon Darlene Lanphier, 95, passed away on April 8, 2024, at The Cottages in Pella, Iowa. A funeral service will take place at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 12, 2024, at Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Knoxville, Iowa. A visitation be held at 10:30 a.m. prior to the service. Lavon will be laid to rest in Graceland Cemetery following services.

Lavon was born in Harvey, Iowa on July 13, 1928, to Engle and Faye (Beaver) VanderVeer. She went to Tracy High School where she played basketball and graduated with the class of 1946. For many years, Lavon lived on a farm near Bussey. The role of a farm wife was not always easy, but her tremendous work ethic made her a great fit for the task. She loved to garden and enjoyed entering her canned products in the Mahaska County Fair. Whether it was her green beans, pickles, or anything else she canned, best in show was always a given. Lavon’s meticulous embroidered creations also fetched plenty of first place awards.

Once the kids grew up and left the house, Lavon went to work outside of the home. She worked at the foundry in Newton, Unfinished Furniture Outlet in Oskaloosa, and Twin Cedars School where she was a study hall monitor. She always enjoyed seeing the former students. In younger years, Lavon enjoyed bowling in her free time. Her competitive spirit made her great at whatever she did. She was never one to mince words or forget to give an opinion when she knew it was needed.

Lavon was a strong independent woman who leaves a legacy of others who inherited her strong will and tenacity. Left to remember Lavon are her daughters, Deborah Sevier (Bob Conrad) and Carla (Dwight) Veldhuizen; grandchildren: Lisa Curnes, Stacie Spaur, Brad (Stacy) Veldhuizen, Andrea (Eric) Hudachek, Bret Agan, Bleu Agan, and Ashley (Cody) Dolittle; ten great grandchildren; five great-great grandchildren; and siblings: Wayne (Betty) VanderVeer, Engle (Sharon) VanderVeer Jr., Patricia (Dennis) Williams, and Paul VanderVeer (Ruth Fridlington).

She was preceded in death by her husband, Carl Briggs; daughter, Audrey Agan (Chris); son in-law, Jim Sevier; and siblings: Jim, Roy, Violet, Thelma, and Jack.

Memorials in Lavon’s name may be directed to Knoxville Area Community Hospital Auxiliary or the Knoxville Senior Center.