Lavon Marie Rockers Mariz passed away peacefully at her home in Irvine, California in the early morning of June 20, 2022.
Lavon and her husband Carl had lived in Irvine since 1981, having previously lived in many locations in the United States and around the world. She is survived by Carl, her sister Joella Rockers, her sons John and Darrell, and two grandchildren.
Lavon was the sixth of seven children of Hilda Catherine Feuerborn Rockers and Arthur Benjamin Rockers. She was born in her parents' farmhouse outside Garnett, Kansas on October 4, 1934. She graduated from Garnett High School in 1952 and attended Paola Junior College and Kansas State Teachers College (now Emporia State University). Upon receiving her credential, she returned to teach in the one-room school house she had attended growing up. In 1957 she moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma to take up an elementary school teaching position. She met her husband Carl, who had moved from Saint Louis, at a Catholic Youth Association dance. They married in December 1958. They resided in Bartlesville until 1966, when they began a series of moves that took them from Oregon, to California, The Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, London, and the Netherlands again until finally settling in Irvine for good. During that time she traveled to the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and Canada.
Lavon was a people person and made life-long friends everywhere she lived. She was an active member of many organizations including the local United Nations Association, Women For, the California Native Plant Society, the Audubon Society, and the Orange County Democratic Party of which she was a long-time delegate.
Lavon tended her home and garden in Irvine until November, 2019 when she moved to a nearby assisted living facility with her husband Carl. Parkinson's disease and other ailments took their toll and she died peacefully in her sleep in the early morning of June 20, just a few months short of her 88 birthday. She was beloved by all who knew her and is deeply mourned.
Memorial services will be held at 11:00AM on Saturday, August 6, 2022, at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel in Garnett, Kansas.
Lavon Mariz's memorial service can be watched here:
https://vimeo.com/736300921