How do we commemorate and honor the life of an extraordinary person, one whose impact on family, friends, co-workers, and strangers on the street was unmistakable and lasting — those special memories that recall this person into our immediate presence? Just like life itself, these recollections are varied and contrastive, completing a whole of intersecting parts that enliven our spiritual and emotional connection to this rare being. 

To each of us, Lavonne H. Gage – Von, Vonnie – was special, and what we remember about her, even in those shared experiences, is deeply personal and deeply stirring. Like the feel of the wind and the warmth of the sun, we each were touched singularly and uniquely. “Our” Von was authentically my Von, my wife, my mother; my grandmother, my great-grandmother; my sister, my sister-in-law, my aunt; my best friend, my teacher, my mentor; my neighbor, my touchstone.

Those special words of encouragement, those stern words of upbraiding, when a reality check was called for; those sweet tender reaching-out moments of hers; those spontaneous verbal and physical hugs that lifted you and let you know that you were special in her eyes are what we carry of her through this life.

Those inseparable, countless Von moments are what