Lavon Morrow

LaVon Morrow, age 91, of Verona, formerly of Lancaster, passed away on Monday, October 18, 2021, at UW Hospitals and Clinics in Madison. She was born on March 4, 1930, to Earl and Pearl (McConnell) Kennedy in Janesville, Wisconsin. She married Virgil A. Morrow on August 23, 1961, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Benton, Wisconsin. He preceded her in death on October 20, 1993. LaVon graduated from Benton High School and over the years took many art and jewelry classes at UW Platteville. She worked at Savanna Ordinance Depot until her marriage. Together they farmed the Morrow Century Farm. After Virgil's death, LaVon continued to run and maintain the farm to the present.
In addition to the work on the farm, she turned to her painting and became involved with the Lancaster Art Club, and the Wisconsin Rural Artist's Association. After several years, she was awarded the John Stewart Curry Memorial Medal for promoting art in Wisconsin. Over the years, she won awards for her painting, one being the First Prize for the Great River Road Contest, which involved ten states and two Canadian Provinces. She has taught oil painting classes, Spring and Fall, for local artists for over 35 years. LaVon also worked in porcelain painting and designing and manufacturing original jewelry while wintering in California after Virgil's death. She loved cooking, using all the home grown produce from her garden. LaVon would change and improve the recipes and share them with all who asked. They particularly enjoyed her Hickory Nut Cookies and English Toffee. There was one exception though. It was her secret recipe for hot mustard, which she shared with only one friend and permitted her to adapt the recipe for marketing. LaVon enjoyed all the big family gatherings and wanted to know what all the nieces and nephews were doing, playing cards, going to plays and movies, and traveling. She and a fellow artist took many trips to the UK and Europe, staying at B&B's, and doing sketching and painting. LaVon was an optimist, always seeing the irony and humor in a situation, and told many humorous stories about the happenings around her.
Survivors include her great-granddaughters: Hayley Morrow Jones and Nicole Lavon Morrow; great-great grandchildren: Savannah Jones, Syrus Jones, Zachariah Morrow, Lazarus Morrow, and Lyric Lavon Morrow; several nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.
In addition to her parents, and her husband, Virgil, LaVon was preceded in death by a son and daughter-in-law, Jerry and Nancy Morrow; a granddaughter, Ann; and her siblings: Evelyn Havertape, Phoebe McCrea, John Kennedy, and Bernard Kennedy; and numerous sisters and brothers-in-law.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Clement Catholic Church in Lancaster with Father William Vernon and Father Bernard Kennedy, OFM officiating. Burial will be in Little Grant Cemetery, Little Grant Township. Family and friends may call on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Martin Schwartz Funeral Home & Crematory in Lancaster and on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until time of services at the church. Those in attendance will be required to wear a mask and practice social distancing. The Mass will be livestreamed on the funeral home's Facebook page. In lieu of plants and flowers, memorials may be given in LaVon's name to the Benton Community Fund, PO Box 253, Benton, WI 53803.
LaVon's family wishes to thank Dorene Starrett, Noel Manor in Verona, UW Hospitals and Clinics, and LaVon's friends and neighbors in Wisconsin and California.