LaVina M. Mannerud, 93, gently slipped away Nov. 16, 2017, in her suite at The Manor of Glacier Hills, Ann Arbor, Michigan, surrounded by loved ones.
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LaVina M. Mannerud, 93, gently slipped away Nov. 16, 2017, in her suite at The Manor of Glacier Hills, Ann Arbor, Michigan, surrounded by loved ones.
She was born March 23, 1924, on a farm near De Smet to Fred and Grace (Fransen) Ritterbusch. A true daughter of the Prairie, she rode a white Shetland pony to a country school, could remember the dust storms and the Great Depression, and grew up during WWII.
She married Erwin Mannerud in 1946, and they started building a road construction company and their life together until his death in 1973. Her brother, Glenn Ritterbusch, predeceased her, and her sister, Amy Crowe, followed her in death soon after.
LaVina loved being a mother. She raised four daughters: Dinah Vincent (Bob), Bowling Green, Ohio; Jane Bodnar (John), Omaha, Nebraska; Marcia Bowes, Clyde, North Carolina and Jean Marie Mannerud, Poway, California. She was amazed to have 14 grandchildren, 19 great-grand children, and three great-great grandchildren, and was an appreciative audience of their jokes and antics. They all honor her legacy of strength–of-character, intellectual curiosity, and service.
LaVina enjoyed many different interests and pursuits. An avid reader with an extensive vocabulary, she was also an adventurous cook, animal lover, outdoor camper, and good friend. She unselfishly traveled to wherever children and grandchildren needed her. She loved being involved in her community and was a life-long member of First Lutheran Church and Ladies’ Aid and Bible Study. She was a member of the VFW and American Legion Auxiliaries, was past-president of the Elks Lady Does, and delivered Meals on Wheels for many years. She drove elderly people to doctor appointments in Sioux Falls. She was in Birthday Club, and cherished her many friends.
A Celebration of Life Service, her “Going Away Party,” as she called it, will be in the First Lutheran Church at 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 3, followed by interment of her cremains at the Lutheran Cemetery, Brookings. All friends and family are invited to celebrate her extraordinary, blessed life.
