Lavern G. Edwards

December 6, 1926 – January 9, 2022

Lavern Edwards, who possessed a contagious, welcoming smile yet retained an inner grit that enabled her to see through nonsense, passed away Sunday, Jan. 9, at Republic Nursing and Rehab in Republic MO. She was 95.

She was healthy and active most of her life, but debilitating arthritis and dementia wore her down over the past three years. She passed peacefully as her heart slowed and finally stopped. Some of the family were able to gather in November to help celebrate her upcoming 95th birthday. She enjoyed the day.

Mrs. Edwards was a City of St. Louis native and longtime St. Louis area resident. She lived in Springfield following the 2010 death in St. Louis of her husband of 63 years, Robert X. "Bob" Edwards.

She was a 1944 graduate of the former Hadley Technical High School in St. Louis. She and Robert X., who had served in the Navy during World War II, were introduced by a mutual friend in 1946 at the jewelry store where she worked in downtown St. Louis.

Lavern and Robert were married in 1948 in St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in St. Louis. They had three children, who survive: Robert M., a longtime resident of Springfield and Mountain Grove who worked for the Springfield News-Leader and Missouri Department of Transportation before he and wife, Susan, retired and moved to Florida; William J., who worked in sales and lives in Oklahoma City, OK.; and Patricia A., who is retired and lives in Ozark.and is an avid horsewoman based at Camp Creek Ranch near Highlandville.

Mrs. Edwards worked for many years as a pension and welfare benefits administrator with the St. Louis Painters District Council. She was detail-oriented and truly enjoyed helping union painters get the most out of their benefits package. As a young mother, she stayed home to take care of her children, cooking, baking and doing laundry, operating a wringer washing machine and hanging wet clothes outside to dry when the weather permitted. She had plenty of laundry to take care of with three kids who played hard at Army and cowboys, rode bikes and played numerous sandlot and then organized sports. Even though her husband was the professional truck driver in the family, she took quiet pride in her skills behind the wheel no matter what the road conditions. As much as she hated losing the independence, she quit driving on her own a few years ago when she felt she could no longer safely do so.

She was a serious and intelligent investor. She was relentless in dealing with utility companies and medical providers whenever she caught billing mistakes. She did seemingly endless research whenever a loved one developed a health issue and became known within the family as "Doctor Lavern." She was an avid reader and also loved to solve crossword puzzles, do cross-stitch, trace family genealogy, swim at the Y and take long walks with her husband after both retired. She enjoyed listening to the music of Andy Williams, Perry Como and Barbra Sreisand, watching variety and dramatic shows on TV like Dinah Shore and Loretta Young and following Olympics figure skating. She endured many afternoons and evenings of her husband and kids raucously watching baseball, hockey, basketball and football games on TV, but she commandeered the remote control for any figure skating competition. She became a tenacious Bingo player in her later years, winning enough games to keep her 'fun money' kitty full of nickels.

Her grandchildren are Elizabeth Edwards of Tulsa, OK, Eleanor Edwards Dyer of Orlando, FL, Audra Mitchell of Highlandville, MO, Scott Woodrow of Orlando, FL, Laurie Edwards Stewart of Piedmont, OK, Greg Edwards of Tulsa, OK, and Erin Edwards-Wainner of Edmond, OK. She also leaves seven great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Edwards lived independently at The Waterford in Springfield and later moved to Country Living Assisted Living in Mountain Grove and then Republic Nursing and Rehab. Along the way she did rehabilitation stints at The Manor at Elfindale and Sunterra Springs. She had excellent services and care at each facility.

A family memorial service will be scheduled for Lavern at a later date. Her ashes will be interred next to her husband in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis.