LaVerne Francis Stevens

LaVerne was born on March 4, 1936 in Brooklyn Iowa, as one of 13 children, to Ben and Florence E. (Minnaert) Stevens.  He graduated from Conroy Consolidated High School where he was a good baseball player.  Often on Sunday afternoons, the Stevens and Zuber families had their own ball teams.  On December 27, 1958, Vern married Gelene Joy Hutton at the St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Marengo.  He worked as a manager of fertilizer and chemical plants in Nevada and Ames.  Vern managed for Coopers Mill, Gerlach Supply and later for S & J Ag in Nevada.  He spent nearly 50 years doing what he loved most – working with farmers to help them have better yields in their crops.  His last employment was with Maximum Ag in his retirement years and he loved sharing his expertise with all of them.  Sometimes we had to chuckle at all the advice he was willing to give.  Vern was a member of the St. Mary's Catholic Church in Colo and the Colo Fire Department.    His children were the high spots of his life and he always wanted to help them in some way.  Vern was often caught napping in his comfy chair with Bob the cat waiting...[more]

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r the phone to ring. Vern and Gelene enjoyed a permanent camping spot at Twin Anchors campground for nearly five years and looked forward each spring to the new families that came.  He was always ready to give any of the little ones a ride on his golf cart.  He loved to grill for others and have the “gang” on his deck.  He was known as the PVC captain for the campground.     Vern is survived by his wife, Gelene of Colo; a son, Jeff of Indianapolis, IN; 2 daughters, Julie (Carroll) Thompson of Clarion and Joni (Kraig) Downs of Pella; 7 grandchildren, Meghann and Brandon Stevens, Amanda and Bethany Thompson and Larissa, Sarah, and Aaron Downs; 4 brothers, Dave Stevens of Marengo, Don (Janet) Stevens, Gary (Judy) Stevens, and Tom Stevens, all of Cedar Rapids; 6 sisters, Pat (Robert) Seye of Ladora, Marcella Hilton of Cedar Rapids, Loretta (Jack) Booth of Sheboygan, WI, Janet (Ken) Fish of North Carolina, Mary Mumm of Marengo, and Beverly (Larry) Neswold of Cedar Rapids; and a sister-in-law Diane Stevens of Fairfax.   Vern was preceded in death by his parents, 2 brothers, Leroy and Bernie Stevens.
Service:

Funeral mass will be held 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, February 4 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Colo.

Cemetery:

Burial will follow the funeral mass in the Colo Cemetery.