Lavonne "Bonnie" Hawkins

LaVonne ("Bonnie") Buswell Hawkins passed away on February 28, 2021, at her home, after a long illness. She was 83. She was most grateful to be able to spend her final days at home surrounded by dozens of family and friends. Born to Gertude Marie Koenig and John Howard Buswell on September 12, 1937, in Marengo, Iowa, LaVonne June Buswell attended school at Marengo Community School, and married Raymond Joseph Hawkins in 1954. LaVonne had three children and lived in Marengo, Carnsforth, and rural Brooklyn. She wore many hats, returning to school to get her license to work as a certified nurse’s aide at Brooklyn and Montezuma nursing homes, as a cook at local truck stops, and was always available to help the neighbors on the farm.

She was most known for her cooking, canning, gardening, and sewing skills, her hard-working nature, and her vivid storytelling. After losing Raymond in 1989, she devoted her time to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, never missing any of their activities. When she wasn’t traveling to support her family or babysitting the young ones, you could find her researching genealogy, knitting, or riding her lawnmower. Preceded in death by her parents, her brother, her husband, and most recently her dog, Blackjack, LaVonne is survived by her sisters, Donna Throndson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Sharon McComb of Colorado; her children, Vicky Crane and her husband, Rick, of Montezuma, Iowa, Paul Hawkins and his wife, Happy, of Montezuma, Joni Schmidt and her husband ,Brent, of Malcom, Iowa; thirteen grandchildren; and seventeen great-grandchildren, and many others who consider themselves in one of those groups.

A service will be held at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on Thursday, March 4 ^th at 10 AM in Victor, Iowa. Burial will follow at Harmony Cemetery, up the road from Raymond and LaVonne’s home in rural Brooklyn. A luncheon will follow at the Deep River Community Center. Visitation will be Wednesday, March 3 ^rd from 4-7 PM at Kloster Funeral Home in Brooklyn. Kloster Funeral Home, Brooklyn is assisting the family with arrangements. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association at www.heart.org .