LaVern Josephine Henderson

LaVern Josephine Henderson, 83, Rich Hill, Mo., passed away on Monday, Nov. 29, 2010, at her home in Rich Hill, following a lengthy illness. She was born Jan. 8, 1927, in Nevada, Mo., to Arthur Barker and Sadie Jewell Thurston Barker. She married Willard Clark Henderson on Aug. 14, 1947, in Berryville, Ark. He preceded her in death on Nov. 24, 2004.

LaVern grew up in Nevada and attended Nevada schools. In 1952, she and her husband and seven children moved to Bell Gardens, Calif., to raise their family. She and her family came to Rich Hill in 1978 where she has lived since. LaVern loved cooking and she and her husband delivered Christmas stockings to the children of the town of Rich Hill for many years.

Survivors include nine children, Tom Durham and his wife, Patty, Alta Loma, Calif., Linda Diebold and her husband, Bob, LaVerne, Calif., Donna Webb and her husband, Tom, Rowland Heights, Calif., Eva Montague and her husband, John, Glendora, Calif., Helen Thornburg and her husband, Tim, Foster, Mo., Sadie Thompson, Austin, Texas, Ed Henderson and his wife, Betty, Copperas Cove, Texas, Bette Henderson, Victorville, Calif., and Gary Henderson and his wife, Bonnie, Mesa, Ariz.; 36 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; two sisters, Ruth Ann Jones and her husband, Joe, Milo, Mo., and Nadine West, Victorville, Calif.; three sisters-in-law, Betty Barker, Nevada, Mo., Rose Barker, Nevada, Mo., and Ramona Barker, Desert, Calif.; and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by one son-in-law, five brothers and one sister.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 2, at Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada, with Jim Davis officiating. Interment will follow in Deerfield Cemetery, Deerfield, Mo. Friends may call now and until the hour of service and the family receives friends from 7-8 p.m., Wednesday, at the funeral home.

Memorials may be contributed to Heartland Hospice c/o Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada.

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