John William Lavender died on Friday, April 3, 2015, at The Aristocrat Assisted Living Community in Las Cruces, NM, due to heart complications. He was 89. Memorial Services will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 5, in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd in Oakwood Memorial Park in Ottawa. The Rev. David Kipfer, Pastor of St. Columba Church in Ottawa will Officiate. Full Military Rites will be conducted by the Ottawa Veterans Memorial Group. Arrangements are through the Mueller Funeral Home.
Born on January 5, 1926, in Lowell, IL, and raised in nearby Ottawa, John was the son of Jesse Lavender and Mayme Arenz, and the brother of Muriel, Donald, Jean, Robert and Corrine. He served in the Pacific with the US Navy during World War II and sustained a serious injury during battle. In March 1946 he was discharged as a First-Class Boatswain’s Mate. In February 1948 John married Blanche Boness in Ottawa, IL, and in January 1953 they became parents to a daughter, Gail. For many years John worked at Waste Management, Inc., where he coordinated the company’s involvement in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. During his employment with Waste Management, John and Blanche lived in Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, and Palm Desert, CA, where Blanche died in 1996. John moved to Las Cruces, NM, in 2004 to be near his daughter and grandchildren. Known as “Jack” or “Buck” to friends and family, John was a devout Catholic, an avid golfer, a steadfast Cubs fan, and a charismatic socialite. When among acquaintances or strangers, he possessed an ability to quickly create intimacy by means of playful goading. John enjoyed spending time with his great-grandchildren in his later years, as well as reading to the sick and the blind. He was treasured by many for his casual generosity, his quick wit, and his irrepressible charm. Memories of John will live on for years to come.
John is survived by a brother, Robert Lavender, of Sarasota, FL a sister, Corrine French, of Lakewood Ranch, FL, a daughter, Gail Lavender, and her husband, Mark Whitehead, of Las Cruces, NM; a grandson, Jordan Lavender-Smith, and his wife, Yael Lavender-Smith, and their daughter, Ariel Lavender-Smith, of Las Cruces, NM; a grandson, Evan Lavender-Smith, and his wife, Carmen Gimenez Smith, and their children, Jackson and Sofia Smith, of Las Cruces, NM; a step-granddaughter, Tori Maurer, and her husband, Matthew Maurer, and their daughters, June and Josephine Maurer, of Redmond, OR; and a step-granddaughter, Tiffany Werner, and her husband, Jonathan Werner, and their daughters, Madeline, Michaela and Emily Werner, of Seattle, WA. John is also survived by several nieces and nephews throughout the US. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ben Towne Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation at 4616 25th Ave. NE, #717 in Seattle, WA 98105, info@bentownefoundation.org
John is laid to rest in the Shrine of Rest Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Faith.
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