Clear, 27° F
(Sept. 4, 2005)
Funeral services for LaVon Peace Hawley Kolstad were held at Crown Hill Cemetery in Powell Wednesday, Sept. 7. She died Sunday, Sept. 4 at St. John’s Lutheran Home in Billings at the age of 87.
She had resided at the Billings home since Oct. 4, 1999.
She was born Nov. 9, 1918, in Powell to William Hawley and Sarah May Hawley. She was the youngest of seven children and was born and raised on William Hawley's farm.
She graduated from Powell High School in 1936 and then went on to attend Denver Business College, graduating in 1938. She married Myron Kolstad on Jan. 1, 1939. LaVon spent four years living in San Fransisco while Myron served in World War II.
Following the war, they moved back to Powell, and in 1947 they purchased Lucier Studio where they developed and sold photos of Yellowstone National Park. They operated the studio until 1958 when LaVon went on to work as a bookkeeper and bank teller at several locations around Powell, including Moyer's Drug, Fryer's Pharmacy, Kopriva's Hardware, New York Life, First National Bank, American National Bank and Powell Office Supply.
LaVon was a member of the Union Presbyterian Church, and she also belonged to and was a past president of the American Legion Auxiliary. She was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of Fraternal Order of Eagles and the B.P.W. Does in Cody. She loved the outdoors, and especially enjoyed fishing and big game hunting. She is survived by her only son, Armand L. Kolstad of Billings, daughter-in-law Kim, and granddaughter Katie; her nieces and nephews, Maynard Hawley, John Hawley, Larry Hawley, Nona Andersen and Janice Harrison, Evelyn Bygren and Charlotte Thoroughgood, Ralph Robert Hawley, Jim Gribble and Connie Lapp.
She was preceded in death by her parents, William Hawley and Sarah A. Mays Hawley; her three brothers, Ward Hawley, Guy Hawley and Ralph Hawley; her three sisters, Hazel Gribble, Veva Sedwick and Cecile Edwards; nieces Karen Nerlin, Helen White and Joyce Christinsen; along with her husband, Myron, who died in March of 1975.
Memorials may be sent to the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society or the Union Presbyterian Church.
