LaVonne Sharon

Beloved Mother, Grandmother aka “Paga” and Great Grandmother, LaVonne Mae (Miller) Sharon, age 78 of Little Falls, Minnesota, passed away due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis at the St. Cloud Hospital on Friday, November 1,  2024. A Celebration of her life will be held on Thursday, November 7 at 11:00 A.M. at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service in Little Falls with Bob Mueller officiating. Visitation will be held from 4:00-7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, November 6 at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service and from 9:30 A.M. until the hour of the service on Thursday at the funeral home.

 She was born in Little Falls on February 9, 1946 to the late Maynard and Myrtle (Harrington) Miller and was a member of the Little Falls graduating Class of 1963. LaVonne called Little Falls home much of her life and worked as a receptionist at Hennepin Paper Mill. She spent several later years with her companion, Mark Bertram, whom she met via an online MS chat group, and their dog, Doofus (a yellow lab mix who kept them entertained and full of his dog hair from 2005 to 2018) in Galesville, WI. She returned to Little Falls after Mark’s passing in 2021 and made her home, as well as more friends, at Bridgeway Estates. She suffered immeasurable heartbreak that brought her to tears daily with the recent sudden loss of her daughter, Melissa Joy Gerads, on June 11, 2024. Another loss that she never got over was that of Bob in 1986 whom she missed and thought of everyday as well as credited her love of golf to. One would think that living with MS for 32 years would have slowed LaVonne down….you think wrong! She may have had to eventually give up golfing and dancing, but she lived a life filled with cooking (a family favorite was always homemade noodles and she passed along the knowledge and skills to her family to continue making them) and baking (pecan pie bars, chocolate chip walnut cookies, golden bread, just to name a few of her tasty treats), and crafts galore that included sewing, t-shirt quilts, quilted seasonal wall hangings, various needlework projects, knitting and crocheting, painting/varnishing/sealing Mark’s woodworking projects and mending clothing items for other residents of Bridgeway Estates. She has just purchased a new sewing machine that did “everything but drive itself” that she was looking forward to continue learning and using. Many of her crafting talents were passed on to granddaughter, Joselyn. Her mobility van kept her on the move visiting friends back in Galesville, girls weekends spent with her “Beaver” sisters while her mobility scooter often kept the youngest grandchildren and great grandchildren entertained with rides and horn honks. In 2022 she made a return trip to Hawaii, taking her children and their spouses along to experience the beauty of the state and create lasting memories together. It had been over 30 years since she had been there, and she commented many times over the course of the trip while we were on Oahu how things had changed! She was blessed with many supportive friends through the years; some she’s lost including JoMary, Louise and Carolyn, and some that remain including Len, Rosie, Diane, Denise and the previously mentioned “Beaver” sisters and her BFF Evie with whom she’s had a cherished friendship for over 70 years. 

Left to carry on LaVonne’s memory and legacy are her son, Craig (Karen) Sharon of Beldenville, WI; son-in-law, Jeffrey Gerads of Little Falls; Grandchildren, Jordan (Kaylah) Gerads of Otsego, MN, Kaitlyn Gerads of Watertown, MN, Joselyn (Caleb) Ochoa of Little Falls and Brady Sharon of Menomonie, WI; Great Grandchildren Kaetheo, Reverie and Lux Gerads, and Ander Ochoa. She is further survived by her siblings Patty (Glenn) West of Little Falls, Audrey (Verne) Deering of Little Falls, Neil (Nancy) Miller of Randall, MN and Lois (John) Peterson of Pillager, and numerous nieces and nephews and her special life long friend, Evie Dingman of Grand Rapids, MN.

She often said she never did anything traditionally and referred to the Elvis Presley song “My Way” as the way she lived her life. So go out and live your life “Your Way” and as you do, if you find yourself on the golf course, the dance floor, or sipping on a mudslide, think fondly of LaVonne.