Her mother's first name was also Sarah so Sarah Lavon went by her middle name.
Lavon was born in her parent's home located on Military Street which is the main street in Mulberry, Kansas. Their house (still standing according to Lavon) set between the Dr. Parish home (medical doctor) and the Dr. Jones house (dentist). Lavon's father owned and operated Pepin Flour and Seed store conveniently located near the railroad line.
Lavon attended schools there in Mulberry, graduating from Mulberry High School in 1934. She graduated from what is now Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, soon taking a job as an elementary school teacher, teaching 1st grade.
Lavon married Lester Lynch on November 21, 1937. The ceremony was held in her parent's home in Mulberry, performed by Rev. G. W. Corporon. Lavon and Lester's relationship started when Lavon and her cousin Wilma Sexton would occasionally see Lester and his friend at the movie theater there in town. But it was a later occasion, while at a fair in Pittsburg, Kansas, that Lavon actually met Lester. Wilma would later marry Lester's friend, Ben Carpenter.
Soon after their marriage, Lester could find very few job opportunities around Mulberry (this would have been during the Great Depression), so he and two friends bought an old car, drove to Chicago and located work, Lester finding a job with an oil company. Lavon soon followed, finding work as a waitress in an upscale, new Chicago restaurant which she said paid more money than she ever made as a school teacher. On occasion, Lavon and Lester enjoyed visiting some of the night clubs in Chicago and danced to the live music.
In 1954, Lavon and Lester moved into a new, two-bedroom house with a one-car garage located at 1633 N. Richmond, then a new sub-division in Wichita located about three blocks north of present-day Indian Hills Shopping Center which likely opened about a year later. Being the first house built in that neighborhood, it was a risk. Would the people keep their houses up and stay a good area? It all worked out. They made this house their own with a beautiful yard and a lilac bush in the middle of the backyard that came from Lavon's childhood home delivered by Lavon's father. They would later plant a maple tree in this area which grew to be a large tree frequented by a pair of orioles. At the back of the backyard they had apple, cherry and peach trees. They really enjoyed their home, neighbors and the area. Lester's sister, Ann Lasley, lived just a short distance away at 1555 N. Meridan.
From 1962 to 1968, Lavon and Lester operated their own restaurant, located at 3945 south Hydraulic in Wichita. This was the first franchise of "Little Pigs Barbecue" in Kansas, and part of a national chain of restaurants which spanned from Seattle to Miami. The meats were hickory smoked "Southern Style." For this, Lavon and Lester received special training in food preparation and management. This style of food was new to Wichita so they later added hamburgers for those not yet accustomed to barbecue. A young man named Tom Winter came to work with Lavon and Lester at the restaurant and became a very close, life-long friend. Individual aircraft workers and large orders for various Boeing Company flights to Seattle allowed their restaurant to survive. They made many friends through their business including Bobby Stout of "Crimestoppers."
Lavon loved to sing, and became a member of the Lewis Street Singers in Wichita, a group made up of seniors. They have regular practices, sing traditional songs, and perform at senior centers and care homes in the Wichita area. Others in this group included Hazel Doughty, Virginia Lightvolt and Gene Barnes, husband of Vada, and father of Kenny and Larry Barnes mentioned here.
Lester passed away in August of 1999. They'd had a great marriage that spanned more than 61 years, and a relationship where they'd enjoyed doing many things together including playing golf at several area courses.
Lavon was very particular about her appearance. Very. Her hair and clothing were always exactly as she wanted them. She inherited a hat collection from her mother, saying that her mother never left the house without a hat. Meanwhile, no one today can recall ever seeing Lavon wearing a hat. This actually makes sense because she didn't want her hair mussed up, and windy days were a concern for her for that reason. Lavon's clothes never appeared to get wrinkled. More often than not, her favorite color, purple, was somewhere in the mix of her clothing or jewelry. With Lavon comfort was sacrificed for fashion as she would wear a small vest or jacket in July or December. Though not a fan of antiques, Lavon enjoyed garage sailing with friends Vada Barnes and Mildred Tusler, no doubt keeping an eye out for purple jewelry.
Lavon had her favorite restaurants, including "Neighbors" located at 2150 N. Amidon St. in the old Twin Lakes Shopping Center along the north side of the steep driveway. This location was once the site of the very popular ice cream parlor, Colonial Fountain and Grill. "Neighbors" has recently moved to the former location of "Shoeless Joe's" in the 2300 block of W. 21st.
Another of Lavon's picks was the nearby King's-X Restaurant located near the northwest corner of 21st and Amidon at 2014 W. 21st Street. Amazingly, more often than not, the waitresses would simply ask Lavon if she wanted her regular order. This restaurant closed after 44 years at that location in November of 2012 and was the last of the original King's-X restaurants named for Jimmie King, originally a cook at the first White Castle restaurant in Wichita, and later the manager of several King's-X restaurants. This 21st Street King's-X restaurant with its distinctive "W" shaped roof was the feature of a KAKE television segment of "Hatteberg's People" hosted by Larry Hatteberg.
Still another of Lavon's favorites is "Emilia's Family Restaurant" located at 784 North West Street which has very faithful regular customers and is visited daily by Hazel Doughty, Lavon's friend from the Lewis Street Singers.
In 2009, Lavon wasn't seeing well enough to drive safely and asked friend Larry Barnes to sell her car, a 1980 Oldsmobile Omega, a car Lavon and Lester purchased new, and almost exclusively maintained by Mark Ritchie, a mechanic with his own one-man business located nearby on Richmond, south of 13th Street. The 4-cylinder car, with about 95,000 miles on it (that's only about 3,000 miles per year over 30 years), didn't have a working air conditioner, but ran very well. Lavon's car sold within an hour and a half to a couple who took such a quick test drive I thought they didn't like the car. They liked it, buying it for their high school aged son. Lavon also felt it was time to move from her house and into a retirement home. These are difficult decisions for anyone, but Lavon was tough and made it look almost easy. Local friends who helped Lavon were Henri (short for Henrietta) Kruse, who drove Lavon to the doctor and did countless other errands like grocery shopping. Henri and her sister Eileen live close to Lavon's old home on Richmond. Various members of the Barnes family also helped Lavon from time to time in these matters, which had all started with neighbor Kenny Barnes helping Lavon and Lester. Lavon said after Lester was gone the Barnes family adopted her, and spent holidays and birthdays with them. After she moved to the Masonic Home, Lavon enjoyed having her birthday party held in the large auditorium with a meal and cake and ice cream. With the Barneses, McCorkles, Henri, her sister Eileen and members of her Pepin family, it was a pretty big crowd. Everyone had a good time and Lavon always looked forward to it.
When Lavon left her home she moved to the Kansas Masonic Home in Wichita, she immediately liked it. Maybe she knew they had something else in common. They did, both had started life in 1917. Lavon's apartment, first located on the 3rd floor then on the 2nd floor, was always conveniently located near an elevator. Lavon kept her apartment decorated with items from her home and many photos of her family and friends. These photos included a nice one of Lester prominently displayed on her television, her friend Henri on horseback, and she always had a calendar in her kitchen customized with photos of her family shown on each month. She also got a big kick out of displaying her decorations for each holiday as well as showing items in the hallway beside her front door. Lavon kept track of the calendar of events at the Masonic Home, attending as many as she could, saying there was always something interesting going on. On her way back from the dining room Lavon would see if she had any mail and check the bulletin board for any updates on events. Lavon also regularly played cards and socialized, enjoyed her meals in the dining room and attended Sunday church services in the old chapel. Once in a while, Lavon was able to go to services at her old church, Riverside Christian, last attending in the spring of 2016 with Vada and Larry Barnes. The people there were very friendly with several speaking to Lavon as well as Rev. Bull and his wife. Until her eyesight failed she enjoyed reading the newspaper every day and watching Wheel of Fortune. She rarely missed that show and listened to it when her vision failed. She kept her radio tuned to 900 AM, a station that plays the popular music from the 1940's-1970's. Lavon was proud of the fact that she didn't need her walker or cane when she moved around her apartment, which was a bit of a mystery how she could do that after her eyesight had failed. Lavon used her walker as she traveled around the Masonic home. And she could walk fast with her walker. Lavon was really light on her feet and could get out of a chair about as quick as you can blink. Lavon prided herself on keeping busy. Though she said she wasn't an early riser in her later years, she went to bed early. When she was up she in her recliner, catching up on mail and phone calls from friends and family and planning her day. She'd heard a few residents at Masonic say they were bored, and wondered how anyone could be bored, the day never was long enough for her to get everything completed. Lavon was a very big supporter of Wichita, saying there were endless things for people to do here and organizations to belong to. Lavon said living at the Masonic Home allowed a person as much privacy as they wanted yet you never felt alone because you were a part of a community. Not long after she moved to the Masonic Home Lavon appeared in one of their television commercials, but it was a missed opportunity because if Lavon had been allowed to speak she would have quickly explained why she enjoyed living there so much.
Lavon had a collection of old, mainly family photos, many of which had no names on the back. A few with names were Lavon's old classmates. One was of an attractive woman who Lavon said was a teacher there in Mulberry. While she still had her eyesight, Lavon could easily identify most of them. Photos of her parents, her aunt Flo and Lavon's two brothers were also found. One photo was noticed of a young lady, and was addressed to Lester. Lavon was asked about it and she said it was an old girlfriend of Lester's. I wondered if this photo was a bit of a trophy for Lavon as she said she won that battle. She got Lester.
In May of 2014, Lavon took a trip back to her home town of Mulberry to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mulberry High School. The event was held at the Mulberry Senior Citizens Building. Lavon's ever faithful friend, Henri Kruse, drove them in her van. They stayed at the home of Lavon's former student Bob Maxwell when she was a 1st grade teacher. Lavon was the oldest graduate in attendance, having graduated 80 years before in the class of 1934. Lavon's aunt, Flo Holman, was recognized as a member of Mulberry's first graduation class of 1914. Lavon said it was quite a trip for someone of her age (97), but felt it had worked out very well and really enjoyed the experience, speaking proudly of what the Mulberry reunion committee and others had accomplished.
Lavon had a memory like an elephant. If you didn't recall what had been planned and exactly when, Lavon sure would. Lavon made difficult decisions late in life such as deciding to stop driving and sell her home and move to a care home. I wonder if her secret to being able to make these hard decisions look easy may have been her very optimistic view of life. She also said there will always be change. At Lavon's memorial service one of her relatives said they wanted to be just like her when they got older. Yes, Lavon was certainly a great example to imitate. She set the bar high and lived life every day.
Photo of cemetery marker (and its location) courtesy of Findagrave contributor Eric Carlson.
Lavon was born in her parent's home located on Military Street which is the main street in Mulberry, Kansas. Their house (still standing according to Lavon) set between the Dr. Parish home (medical doctor) and the Dr. Jones house (dentist). Lavon's father owned and operated Pepin Flour and Seed store conveniently located near the railroad line.
Lavon attended schools there in Mulberry, graduating from Mulberry High School in 1934. She graduated from what is now Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, soon taking a job as an elementary school teacher, teaching 1st grade.
Lavon married Lester Lynch on November 21, 1937. The ceremony was held in her parent's home in Mulberry, performed by Rev. G. W. Corporon. Lavon and Lester's relationship started when Lavon and her cousin Wilma Sexton would occasionally see Lester and his friend at the movie theater there in town. But it was a later occasion, while at a fair in Pittsburg, Kansas, that Lavon actually met Lester. Wilma would later marry Lester's friend, Ben Carpenter.
Soon after their marriage, Lester could find very few job opportunities around Mulberry (this would have been during the Great Depression), so he and two friends bought an old car, drove to Chicago and located work, Lester finding a job with an oil company. Lavon soon followed, finding work as a waitress in an upscale, new Chicago restaurant which she said paid more money than she ever made as a school teacher. On occasion, Lavon and Lester enjoyed visiting some of the night clubs in Chicago and danced to the live music.
In 1954, Lavon and Lester moved into a new, two-bedroom house with a one-car garage located at 1633 N. Richmond, then a new sub-division in Wichita located about three blocks north of present-day Indian Hills Shopping Center which likely opened about a year later. Being the first house built in that neighborhood, it was a risk. Would the people keep their houses up and stay a good area? It all worked out. They made this house their own with a beautiful yard and a lilac bush in the middle of the backyard that came from Lavon's childhood home delivered by Lavon's father. They would later plant a maple tree in this area which grew to be a large tree frequented by a pair of orioles. At the back of the backyard they had apple, cherry and peach trees. They really enjoyed their home, neighbors and the area. Lester's sister, Ann Lasley, lived just a short distance away at 1555 N. Meridan.
From 1962 to 1968, Lavon and Lester operated their own restaurant, located at 3945 south Hydraulic in Wichita. This was the first franchise of "Little Pigs Barbecue" in Kansas, and part of a national chain of restaurants which spanned from Seattle to Miami. The meats were hickory smoked "Southern Style." For this, Lavon and Lester received special training in food preparation and management. This style of food was new to Wichita so they later added hamburgers for those not yet accustomed to barbecue. A young man named Tom Winter came to work with Lavon and Lester at the restaurant and became a very close, life-long friend. Individual aircraft workers and large orders for various Boeing Company flights to Seattle allowed their restaurant to survive. They made many friends through their business including Bobby Stout of "Crimestoppers."
Lavon loved to sing, and became a member of the Lewis Street Singers in Wichita, a group made up of seniors. They have regular practices, sing traditional songs, and perform at senior centers and care homes in the Wichita area. Others in this group included Hazel Doughty, Virginia Lightvolt and Gene Barnes, husband of Vada, and father of Kenny and Larry Barnes mentioned here.
Lester passed away in August of 1999. They'd had a great marriage that spanned more than 61 years, and a relationship where they'd enjoyed doing many things together including playing golf at several area courses.
Lavon was very particular about her appearance. Very. Her hair and clothing were always exactly as she wanted them. She inherited a hat collection from her mother, saying that her mother never left the house without a hat. Meanwhile, no one today can recall ever seeing Lavon wearing a hat. This actually makes sense because she didn't want her hair mussed up, and windy days were a concern for her for that reason. Lavon's clothes never appeared to get wrinkled. More often than not, her favorite color, purple, was somewhere in the mix of her clothing or jewelry. With Lavon comfort was sacrificed for fashion as she would wear a small vest or jacket in July or December. Though not a fan of antiques, Lavon enjoyed garage sailing with friends Vada Barnes and Mildred Tusler, no doubt keeping an eye out for purple jewelry.
Lavon had her favorite restaurants, including "Neighbors" located at 2150 N. Amidon St. in the old Twin Lakes Shopping Center along the north side of the steep driveway. This location was once the site of the very popular ice cream parlor, Colonial Fountain and Grill. "Neighbors" has recently moved to the former location of "Shoeless Joe's" in the 2300 block of W. 21st.
Another of Lavon's picks was the nearby King's-X Restaurant located near the northwest corner of 21st and Amidon at 2014 W. 21st Street. Amazingly, more often than not, the waitresses would simply ask Lavon if she wanted her regular order. This restaurant closed after 44 years at that location in November of 2012 and was the last of the original King's-X restaurants named for Jimmie King, originally a cook at the first White Castle restaurant in Wichita, and later the manager of several King's-X restaurants. This 21st Street King's-X restaurant with its distinctive "W" shaped roof was the feature of a KAKE television segment of "Hatteberg's People" hosted by Larry Hatteberg.
Still another of Lavon's favorites is "Emilia's Family Restaurant" located at 784 North West Street which has very faithful regular customers and is visited daily by Hazel Doughty, Lavon's friend from the Lewis Street Singers.
In 2009, Lavon wasn't seeing well enough to drive safely and asked friend Larry Barnes to sell her car, a 1980 Oldsmobile Omega, a car Lavon and Lester purchased new, and almost exclusively maintained by Mark Ritchie, a mechanic with his own one-man business located nearby on Richmond, south of 13th Street. The 4-cylinder car, with about 95,000 miles on it (that's only about 3,000 miles per year over 30 years), didn't have a working air conditioner, but ran very well. Lavon's car sold within an hour and a half to a couple who took such a quick test drive I thought they didn't like the car. They liked it, buying it for their high school aged son. Lavon also felt it was time to move from her house and into a retirement home. These are difficult decisions for anyone, but Lavon was tough and made it look almost easy. Local friends who helped Lavon were Henri (short for Henrietta) Kruse, who drove Lavon to the doctor and did countless other errands like grocery shopping. Henri and her sister Eileen live close to Lavon's old home on Richmond. Various members of the Barnes family also helped Lavon from time to time in these matters, which had all started with neighbor Kenny Barnes helping Lavon and Lester. Lavon said after Lester was gone the Barnes family adopted her, and spent holidays and birthdays with them. After she moved to the Masonic Home, Lavon enjoyed having her birthday party held in the large auditorium with a meal and cake and ice cream. With the Barneses, McCorkles, Henri, her sister Eileen and members of her Pepin family, it was a pretty big crowd. Everyone had a good time and Lavon always looked forward to it.
When Lavon left her home she moved to the Kansas Masonic Home in Wichita, she immediately liked it. Maybe she knew they had something else in common. They did, both had started life in 1917. Lavon's apartment, first located on the 3rd floor then on the 2nd floor, was always conveniently located near an elevator. Lavon kept her apartment decorated with items from her home and many photos of her family and friends. These photos included a nice one of Lester prominently displayed on her television, her friend Henri on horseback, and she always had a calendar in her kitchen customized with photos of her family shown on each month. She also got a big kick out of displaying her decorations for each holiday as well as showing items in the hallway beside her front door. Lavon kept track of the calendar of events at the Masonic Home, attending as many as she could, saying there was always something interesting going on. On her way back from the dining room Lavon would see if she had any mail and check the bulletin board for any updates on events. Lavon also regularly played cards and socialized, enjoyed her meals in the dining room and attended Sunday church services in the old chapel. Once in a while, Lavon was able to go to services at her old church, Riverside Christian, last attending in the spring of 2016 with Vada and Larry Barnes. The people there were very friendly with several speaking to Lavon as well as Rev. Bull and his wife. Until her eyesight failed she enjoyed reading the newspaper every day and watching Wheel of Fortune. She rarely missed that show and listened to it when her vision failed. She kept her radio tuned to 900 AM, a station that plays the popular music from the 1940's-1970's. Lavon was proud of the fact that she didn't need her walker or cane when she moved around her apartment, which was a bit of a mystery how she could do that after her eyesight had failed. Lavon used her walker as she traveled around the Masonic home. And she could walk fast with her walker. Lavon was really light on her feet and could get out of a chair about as quick as you can blink. Lavon prided herself on keeping busy. Though she said she wasn't an early riser in her later years, she went to bed early. When she was up she in her recliner, catching up on mail and phone calls from friends and family and planning her day. She'd heard a few residents at Masonic say they were bored, and wondered how anyone could be bored, the day never was long enough for her to get everything completed. Lavon was a very big supporter of Wichita, saying there were endless things for people to do here and organizations to belong to. Lavon said living at the Masonic Home allowed a person as much privacy as they wanted yet you never felt alone because you were a part of a community. Not long after she moved to the Masonic Home Lavon appeared in one of their television commercials, but it was a missed opportunity because if Lavon had been allowed to speak she would have quickly explained why she enjoyed living there so much.
Lavon had a collection of old, mainly family photos, many of which had no names on the back. A few with names were Lavon's old classmates. One was of an attractive woman who Lavon said was a teacher there in Mulberry. While she still had her eyesight, Lavon could easily identify most of them. Photos of her parents, her aunt Flo and Lavon's two brothers were also found. One photo was noticed of a young lady, and was addressed to Lester. Lavon was asked about it and she said it was an old girlfriend of Lester's. I wondered if this photo was a bit of a trophy for Lavon as she said she won that battle. She got Lester.
In May of 2014, Lavon took a trip back to her home town of Mulberry to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mulberry High School. The event was held at the Mulberry Senior Citizens Building. Lavon's ever faithful friend, Henri Kruse, drove them in her van. They stayed at the home of Lavon's former student Bob Maxwell when she was a 1st grade teacher. Lavon was the oldest graduate in attendance, having graduated 80 years before in the class of 1934. Lavon's aunt, Flo Holman, was recognized as a member of Mulberry's first graduation class of 1914. Lavon said it was quite a trip for someone of her age (97), but felt it had worked out very well and really enjoyed the experience, speaking proudly of what the Mulberry reunion committee and others had accomplished.
Lavon had a memory like an elephant. If you didn't recall what had been planned and exactly when, Lavon sure would. Lavon made difficult decisions late in life such as deciding to stop driving and sell her home and move to a care home. I wonder if her secret to being able to make these hard decisions look easy may have been her very optimistic view of life. She also said there will always be change. At Lavon's memorial service one of her relatives said they wanted to be just like her when they got older. Yes, Lavon was certainly a great example to imitate. She set the bar high and lived life every day.
Photo of cemetery marker (and its location) courtesy of Findagrave contributor Eric Carlson.
Her mother's first name was also Sarah so Sarah Lavon went by her middle name.
Lavon was born in her parent's home located on Military Street which is the main street in Mulberry, Kansas. Their house (still standing according to Lavon) set between the Dr. Parish home (medical doctor) and the Dr. Jones house (dentist). Lavon's father owned and operated Pepin Flour and Seed store conveniently located near the railroad line.
Lavon attended schools there in Mulberry, graduating from Mulberry High School in 1934. She graduated from what is now Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, soon taking a job as an elementary school teacher, teaching 1st grade.
Lavon married Lester Lynch on November 21, 1937. The ceremony was held in her parent's home in Mulberry, performed by Rev. G. W. Corporon. Lavon and Lester's relationship started when Lavon and her cousin Wilma Sexton would occasionally see Lester and his friend at the movie theater there in town. But it was a later occasion, while at a fair in Pittsburg, Kansas, that Lavon actually met Lester. Wilma would later marry Lester's friend, Ben Carpenter.
Soon after their marriage, Lester could find very few job opportunities around Mulberry (this would have been during the Great Depression), so he and two friends bought an old car, drove to Chicago and located work, Lester finding a job with an oil company. Lavon soon followed, finding work as a waitress in an upscale, new Chicago restaurant which she said paid more money than she ever made as a school teacher. On occasion, Lavon and Lester enjoyed visiting some of the night clubs in Chicago and danced to the live music.
In 1954, Lavon and Lester moved into a new, two-bedroom house with a one-car garage located at 1633 N. Richmond, then a new sub-division in Wichita located about three blocks north of present-day Indian Hills Shopping Center which likely opened about a year later. Being the first house built in that neighborhood, it was a risk. Would the people keep their houses up and stay a good area? It all worked out. They made this house their own with a beautiful yard and a lilac bush in the middle of the backyard that came from Lavon's childhood home delivered by Lavon's father. They would later plant a maple tree in this area which grew to be a large tree frequented by a pair of orioles. At the back of the backyard they had apple, cherry and peach trees. They really enjoyed their home, neighbors and the area. Lester's sister, Ann Lasley, lived just a short distance away at 1555 N. Meridan.
From 1962 to 1968, Lavon and Lester operated their own restaurant, located at 3945 south Hydraulic in Wichita. This was the first franchise of "Little Pigs Barbecue" in Kansas, and part of a national chain of restaurants which spanned from Seattle to Miami. The meats were hickory smoked "Southern Style." For this, Lavon and Lester received special training in food preparation and management. This style of food was new to Wichita so they later added hamburgers for those not yet accustomed to barbecue. A young man named Tom Winter came to work with Lavon and Lester at the restaurant and became a very close, life-long friend. Individual aircraft workers and large orders for various Boeing Company flights to Seattle allowed their restaurant to survive. They made many friends through their business including Bobby Stout of "Crimestoppers."
Lavon loved to sing, and became a member of the Lewis Street Singers in Wichita, a group made up of seniors. They have regular practices, sing traditional songs, and perform at senior centers and care homes in the Wichita area. Others in this group included Hazel Doughty, Virginia Lightvolt and Gene Barnes, husband of Vada, and father of Kenny and Larry Barnes mentioned here.
Lester passed away in August of 1999. They'd had a great marriage that spanned more than 61 years, and a relationship where they'd enjoyed doing many things together including playing golf at several area courses.
Lavon was very particular about her appearance. Very. Her hair and clothing were always exactly as she wanted them. She inherited a hat collection from her mother, saying that her mother never left the house without a hat. Meanwhile, no one today can recall ever seeing Lavon wearing a hat. This actually makes sense because she didn't want her hair mussed up, and windy days were a concern for her for that reason. Lavon's clothes never appeared to get wrinkled. More often than not, her favorite color, purple, was somewhere in the mix of her clothing or jewelry. With Lavon comfort was sacrificed for fashion as she would wear a small vest or jacket in July or December. Though not a fan of antiques, Lavon enjoyed garage sailing with friends Vada Barnes and Mildred Tusler, no doubt keeping an eye out for purple jewelry.
Lavon had her favorite restaurants, including "Neighbors" located at 2150 N. Amidon St. in the old Twin Lakes Shopping Center along the north side of the steep driveway. This location was once the site of the very popular ice cream parlor, Colonial Fountain and Grill. "Neighbors" has recently moved to the former location of "Shoeless Joe's" in the 2300 block of W. 21st.
Another of Lavon's picks was the nearby King's-X Restaurant located near the northwest corner of 21st and Amidon at 2014 W. 21st Street. Amazingly, more often than not, the waitresses would simply ask Lavon if she wanted her regular order. This restaurant closed after 44 years at that location in November of 2012 and was the last of the original King's-X restaurants named for Jimmie King, originally a cook at the first White Castle restaurant in Wichita, and later the manager of several King's-X restaurants. This 21st Street King's-X restaurant with its distinctive "W" shaped roof was the feature of a KAKE television segment of "Hatteberg's People" hosted by Larry Hatteberg.
Still another of Lavon's favorites is "Emilia's Family Restaurant" located at 784 North West Street which has very faithful regular customers and is visited daily by Hazel Doughty, Lavon's friend from the Lewis Street Singers.
In 2009, Lavon wasn't seeing well enough to drive safely and asked friend Larry Barnes to sell her car, a 1980 Oldsmobile Omega, a car Lavon and Lester purchased new, and almost exclusively maintained by Mark Ritchie, a mechanic with his own one-man business located nearby on Richmond, south of 13th Street. The 4-cylinder car, with about 95,000 miles on it (that's only about 3,000 miles per year over 30 years), didn't have a working air conditioner, but ran very well. Lavon's car sold within an hour and a half to a couple who took such a quick test drive I thought they didn't like the car. They liked it, buying it for their high school aged son. Lavon also felt it was time to move from her house and into a retirement home. These are difficult decisions for anyone, but Lavon was tough and made it look almost easy. Local friends who helped Lavon were Henri (short for Henrietta) Kruse, who drove Lavon to the doctor and did countless other errands like grocery shopping. Henri and her sister Eileen live close to Lavon's old home on Richmond. Various members of the Barnes family also helped Lavon from time to time in these matters, which had all started with neighbor Kenny Barnes helping Lavon and Lester. Lavon said after Lester was gone the Barnes family adopted her, and spent holidays and birthdays with them. After she moved to the Masonic Home, Lavon enjoyed having her birthday party held in the large auditorium with a meal and cake and ice cream. With the Barneses, McCorkles, Henri, her sister Eileen and members of her Pepin family, it was a pretty big crowd. Everyone had a good time and Lavon always looked forward to it.
When Lavon left her home she moved to the Kansas Masonic Home in Wichita, she immediately liked it. Maybe she knew they had something else in common. They did, both had started life in 1917. Lavon's apartment, first located on the 3rd floor then on the 2nd floor, was always conveniently located near an elevator. Lavon kept her apartment decorated with items from her home and many photos of her family and friends. These photos included a nice one of Lester prominently displayed on her television, her friend Henri on horseback, and she always had a calendar in her kitchen customized with photos of her family shown on each month. She also got a big kick out of displaying her decorations for each holiday as well as showing items in the hallway beside her front door. Lavon kept track of the calendar of events at the Masonic Home, attending as many as she could, saying there was always something interesting going on. On her way back from the dining room Lavon would see if she had any mail and check the bulletin board for any updates on events. Lavon also regularly played cards and socialized, enjoyed her meals in the dining room and attended Sunday church services in the old chapel. Once in a while, Lavon was able to go to services at her old church, Riverside Christian, last attending in the spring of 2016 with Vada and Larry Barnes. The people there were very friendly with several speaking to Lavon as well as Rev. Bull and his wife. Until her eyesight failed she enjoyed reading the newspaper every day and watching Wheel of Fortune. She rarely missed that show and listened to it when her vision failed. She kept her radio tuned to 900 AM, a station that plays the popular music from the 1940's-1970's. Lavon was proud of the fact that she didn't need her walker or cane when she moved around her apartment, which was a bit of a mystery how she could do that after her eyesight had failed. Lavon used her walker as she traveled around the Masonic home. And she could walk fast with her walker. Lavon was really light on her feet and could get out of a chair about as quick as you can blink. Lavon prided herself on keeping busy. Though she said she wasn't an early riser in her later years, she went to bed early. When she was up she in her recliner, catching up on mail and phone calls from friends and family and planning her day. She'd heard a few residents at Masonic say they were bored, and wondered how anyone could be bored, the day never was long enough for her to get everything completed. Lavon was a very big supporter of Wichita, saying there were endless things for people to do here and organizations to belong to. Lavon said living at the Masonic Home allowed a person as much privacy as they wanted yet you never felt alone because you were a part of a community. Not long after she moved to the Masonic Home Lavon appeared in one of their television commercials, but it was a missed opportunity because if Lavon had been allowed to speak she would have quickly explained why she enjoyed living there so much.
Lavon had a collection of old, mainly family photos, many of which had no names on the back. A few with names were Lavon's old classmates. One was of an attractive woman who Lavon said was a teacher there in Mulberry. While she still had her eyesight, Lavon could easily identify most of them. Photos of her parents, her aunt Flo and Lavon's two brothers were also found. One photo was noticed of a young lady, and was addressed to Lester. Lavon was asked about it and she said it was an old girlfriend of Lester's. I wondered if this photo was a bit of a trophy for Lavon as she said she won that battle. She got Lester.
In May of 2014, Lavon took a trip back to her home town of Mulberry to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mulberry High School. The event was held at the Mulberry Senior Citizens Building. Lavon's ever faithful friend, Henri Kruse, drove them in her van. They stayed at the home of Lavon's former student Bob Maxwell when she was a 1st grade teacher. Lavon was the oldest graduate in attendance, having graduated 80 years before in the class of 1934. Lavon's aunt, Flo Holman, was recognized as a member of Mulberry's first graduation class of 1914. Lavon said it was quite a trip for someone of her age (97), but felt it had worked out very well and really enjoyed the experience, speaking proudly of what the Mulberry reunion committee and others had accomplished.
Lavon had a memory like an elephant. If you didn't recall what had been planned and exactly when, Lavon sure would. Lavon made difficult decisions late in life such as deciding to stop driving and sell her home and move to a care home. I wonder if her secret to being able to make these hard decisions look easy may have been her very optimistic view of life. She also said there will always be change. At Lavon's memorial service one of her relatives said they wanted to be just like her when they got older. Yes, Lavon was certainly a great example to imitate. She set the bar high and lived life every day.
Photo of cemetery marker (and its location) courtesy of Findagrave contributor Eric Carlson.
Lavon was born in her parent's home located on Military Street which is the main street in Mulberry, Kansas. Their house (still standing according to Lavon) set between the Dr. Parish home (medical doctor) and the Dr. Jones house (dentist). Lavon's father owned and operated Pepin Flour and Seed store conveniently located near the railroad line.
Lavon attended schools there in Mulberry, graduating from Mulberry High School in 1934. She graduated from what is now Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, soon taking a job as an elementary school teacher, teaching 1st grade.
Lavon married Lester Lynch on November 21, 1937. The ceremony was held in her parent's home in Mulberry, performed by Rev. G. W. Corporon. Lavon and Lester's relationship started when Lavon and her cousin Wilma Sexton would occasionally see Lester and his friend at the movie theater there in town. But it was a later occasion, while at a fair in Pittsburg, Kansas, that Lavon actually met Lester. Wilma would later marry Lester's friend, Ben Carpenter.
Soon after their marriage, Lester could find very few job opportunities around Mulberry (this would have been during the Great Depression), so he and two friends bought an old car, drove to Chicago and located work, Lester finding a job with an oil company. Lavon soon followed, finding work as a waitress in an upscale, new Chicago restaurant which she said paid more money than she ever made as a school teacher. On occasion, Lavon and Lester enjoyed visiting some of the night clubs in Chicago and danced to the live music.
In 1954, Lavon and Lester moved into a new, two-bedroom house with a one-car garage located at 1633 N. Richmond, then a new sub-division in Wichita located about three blocks north of present-day Indian Hills Shopping Center which likely opened about a year later. Being the first house built in that neighborhood, it was a risk. Would the people keep their houses up and stay a good area? It all worked out. They made this house their own with a beautiful yard and a lilac bush in the middle of the backyard that came from Lavon's childhood home delivered by Lavon's father. They would later plant a maple tree in this area which grew to be a large tree frequented by a pair of orioles. At the back of the backyard they had apple, cherry and peach trees. They really enjoyed their home, neighbors and the area. Lester's sister, Ann Lasley, lived just a short distance away at 1555 N. Meridan.
From 1962 to 1968, Lavon and Lester operated their own restaurant, located at 3945 south Hydraulic in Wichita. This was the first franchise of "Little Pigs Barbecue" in Kansas, and part of a national chain of restaurants which spanned from Seattle to Miami. The meats were hickory smoked "Southern Style." For this, Lavon and Lester received special training in food preparation and management. This style of food was new to Wichita so they later added hamburgers for those not yet accustomed to barbecue. A young man named Tom Winter came to work with Lavon and Lester at the restaurant and became a very close, life-long friend. Individual aircraft workers and large orders for various Boeing Company flights to Seattle allowed their restaurant to survive. They made many friends through their business including Bobby Stout of "Crimestoppers."
Lavon loved to sing, and became a member of the Lewis Street Singers in Wichita, a group made up of seniors. They have regular practices, sing traditional songs, and perform at senior centers and care homes in the Wichita area. Others in this group included Hazel Doughty, Virginia Lightvolt and Gene Barnes, husband of Vada, and father of Kenny and Larry Barnes mentioned here.
Lester passed away in August of 1999. They'd had a great marriage that spanned more than 61 years, and a relationship where they'd enjoyed doing many things together including playing golf at several area courses.
Lavon was very particular about her appearance. Very. Her hair and clothing were always exactly as she wanted them. She inherited a hat collection from her mother, saying that her mother never left the house without a hat. Meanwhile, no one today can recall ever seeing Lavon wearing a hat. This actually makes sense because she didn't want her hair mussed up, and windy days were a concern for her for that reason. Lavon's clothes never appeared to get wrinkled. More often than not, her favorite color, purple, was somewhere in the mix of her clothing or jewelry. With Lavon comfort was sacrificed for fashion as she would wear a small vest or jacket in July or December. Though not a fan of antiques, Lavon enjoyed garage sailing with friends Vada Barnes and Mildred Tusler, no doubt keeping an eye out for purple jewelry.
Lavon had her favorite restaurants, including "Neighbors" located at 2150 N. Amidon St. in the old Twin Lakes Shopping Center along the north side of the steep driveway. This location was once the site of the very popular ice cream parlor, Colonial Fountain and Grill. "Neighbors" has recently moved to the former location of "Shoeless Joe's" in the 2300 block of W. 21st.
Another of Lavon's picks was the nearby King's-X Restaurant located near the northwest corner of 21st and Amidon at 2014 W. 21st Street. Amazingly, more often than not, the waitresses would simply ask Lavon if she wanted her regular order. This restaurant closed after 44 years at that location in November of 2012 and was the last of the original King's-X restaurants named for Jimmie King, originally a cook at the first White Castle restaurant in Wichita, and later the manager of several King's-X restaurants. This 21st Street King's-X restaurant with its distinctive "W" shaped roof was the feature of a KAKE television segment of "Hatteberg's People" hosted by Larry Hatteberg.
Still another of Lavon's favorites is "Emilia's Family Restaurant" located at 784 North West Street which has very faithful regular customers and is visited daily by Hazel Doughty, Lavon's friend from the Lewis Street Singers.
In 2009, Lavon wasn't seeing well enough to drive safely and asked friend Larry Barnes to sell her car, a 1980 Oldsmobile Omega, a car Lavon and Lester purchased new, and almost exclusively maintained by Mark Ritchie, a mechanic with his own one-man business located nearby on Richmond, south of 13th Street. The 4-cylinder car, with about 95,000 miles on it (that's only about 3,000 miles per year over 30 years), didn't have a working air conditioner, but ran very well. Lavon's car sold within an hour and a half to a couple who took such a quick test drive I thought they didn't like the car. They liked it, buying it for their high school aged son. Lavon also felt it was time to move from her house and into a retirement home. These are difficult decisions for anyone, but Lavon was tough and made it look almost easy. Local friends who helped Lavon were Henri (short for Henrietta) Kruse, who drove Lavon to the doctor and did countless other errands like grocery shopping. Henri and her sister Eileen live close to Lavon's old home on Richmond. Various members of the Barnes family also helped Lavon from time to time in these matters, which had all started with neighbor Kenny Barnes helping Lavon and Lester. Lavon said after Lester was gone the Barnes family adopted her, and spent holidays and birthdays with them. After she moved to the Masonic Home, Lavon enjoyed having her birthday party held in the large auditorium with a meal and cake and ice cream. With the Barneses, McCorkles, Henri, her sister Eileen and members of her Pepin family, it was a pretty big crowd. Everyone had a good time and Lavon always looked forward to it.
When Lavon left her home she moved to the Kansas Masonic Home in Wichita, she immediately liked it. Maybe she knew they had something else in common. They did, both had started life in 1917. Lavon's apartment, first located on the 3rd floor then on the 2nd floor, was always conveniently located near an elevator. Lavon kept her apartment decorated with items from her home and many photos of her family and friends. These photos included a nice one of Lester prominently displayed on her television, her friend Henri on horseback, and she always had a calendar in her kitchen customized with photos of her family shown on each month. She also got a big kick out of displaying her decorations for each holiday as well as showing items in the hallway beside her front door. Lavon kept track of the calendar of events at the Masonic Home, attending as many as she could, saying there was always something interesting going on. On her way back from the dining room Lavon would see if she had any mail and check the bulletin board for any updates on events. Lavon also regularly played cards and socialized, enjoyed her meals in the dining room and attended Sunday church services in the old chapel. Once in a while, Lavon was able to go to services at her old church, Riverside Christian, last attending in the spring of 2016 with Vada and Larry Barnes. The people there were very friendly with several speaking to Lavon as well as Rev. Bull and his wife. Until her eyesight failed she enjoyed reading the newspaper every day and watching Wheel of Fortune. She rarely missed that show and listened to it when her vision failed. She kept her radio tuned to 900 AM, a station that plays the popular music from the 1940's-1970's. Lavon was proud of the fact that she didn't need her walker or cane when she moved around her apartment, which was a bit of a mystery how she could do that after her eyesight had failed. Lavon used her walker as she traveled around the Masonic home. And she could walk fast with her walker. Lavon was really light on her feet and could get out of a chair about as quick as you can blink. Lavon prided herself on keeping busy. Though she said she wasn't an early riser in her later years, she went to bed early. When she was up she in her recliner, catching up on mail and phone calls from friends and family and planning her day. She'd heard a few residents at Masonic say they were bored, and wondered how anyone could be bored, the day never was long enough for her to get everything completed. Lavon was a very big supporter of Wichita, saying there were endless things for people to do here and organizations to belong to. Lavon said living at the Masonic Home allowed a person as much privacy as they wanted yet you never felt alone because you were a part of a community. Not long after she moved to the Masonic Home Lavon appeared in one of their television commercials, but it was a missed opportunity because if Lavon had been allowed to speak she would have quickly explained why she enjoyed living there so much.
Lavon had a collection of old, mainly family photos, many of which had no names on the back. A few with names were Lavon's old classmates. One was of an attractive woman who Lavon said was a teacher there in Mulberry. While she still had her eyesight, Lavon could easily identify most of them. Photos of her parents, her aunt Flo and Lavon's two brothers were also found. One photo was noticed of a young lady, and was addressed to Lester. Lavon was asked about it and she said it was an old girlfriend of Lester's. I wondered if this photo was a bit of a trophy for Lavon as she said she won that battle. She got Lester.
In May of 2014, Lavon took a trip back to her home town of Mulberry to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mulberry High School. The event was held at the Mulberry Senior Citizens Building. Lavon's ever faithful friend, Henri Kruse, drove them in her van. They stayed at the home of Lavon's former student Bob Maxwell when she was a 1st grade teacher. Lavon was the oldest graduate in attendance, having graduated 80 years before in the class of 1934. Lavon's aunt, Flo Holman, was recognized as a member of Mulberry's first graduation class of 1914. Lavon said it was quite a trip for someone of her age (97), but felt it had worked out very well and really enjoyed the experience, speaking proudly of what the Mulberry reunion committee and others had accomplished.
Lavon had a memory like an elephant. If you didn't recall what had been planned and exactly when, Lavon sure would. Lavon made difficult decisions late in life such as deciding to stop driving and sell her home and move to a care home. I wonder if her secret to being able to make these hard decisions look easy may have been her very optimistic view of life. She also said there will always be change. At Lavon's memorial service one of her relatives said they wanted to be just like her when they got older. Yes, Lavon was certainly a great example to imitate. She set the bar high and lived life every day.
Photo of cemetery marker (and its location) courtesy of Findagrave contributor Eric Carlson.
Bio by: Larry E. Barnes
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