LaVonne Mary Oelklaus' Obituary
LaVonne Mary "Bonnie" Oelklaus, 98, died peacefully in her sleep on November 15, 2016 in Tucson, AZ. Bonnie was born August 11, 1918 in Marcus, IA to Orin Fay and Margaret Theresa Shoemaker, the second of eight children. The family later moved to Fielding, Iowa where they purchased and ran the General Store and Post Office. There was also a meeting hall above the store that was used for various things, including voting and a dancehall where the Lawrence Welk Band regularly played.
Bonnie met her future husband, William Frederick "Bill" Oelklaus, Jr. while she was working as a waitress in Marcus, IA. Their first date was on September, Friday the 13th, 1940, and they were married on April 12, 1941 in Salix, IA. They moved to San Luis Obispo, CA in 1941, just before World War II broke out. Bill was drafted in 1942, and served until the end of the war. Bonnie, and newborn Bill the 3rd spent the war years without 'Dad' between Southern California, and her family in Iowa.
They were blessed with three children, William Frederick III. born in 1943, Gary Paul, born in 1946, and Mary Kathleen, born in 1950. Bonnie and Bill lived in several places in California during those years after the war, settling in Pleasant Hill, CA in 1951, and stayed there until Bill retired in 1971 when they moved to Tucson, AZ.
Bonnie's cooking was famous! Especially fondly remembered, and often replicated are her enchiladas, pfefferneusse, and fudge.
Bonnie was the proud, loving grandmother to eight grandchildren, Bill IV, Jeffrey, Jack, Jason, Regan, Jeremy, Erin and Shelby, and great-grandmother to Jennifer, Channing, Liam, Kenna, and Jack Jr. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill, her son, Gary, and her grandson, Jeffrey.
Visitation and a Rosary will take place at Evergreen Funeral Home on Oracle, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. (rosary at 7:00), on Friday, December 2, 2016. A Funeral Mass will be said at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at Sacred Heart Church, on Fort Lowell, followed by internment at the Holy Hope Cemetery Mausoleum (about 12:00 noon) on Oracle.
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