LAVON LARSON (1913-1964)

Lonnie married John Ray Robertson in on September 7, 1930 in Glenwood, Mills, Iowa. They lived in Nebraska until 1938 when they moved to East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Ernest Abel, Lonnie’s brother-in-law, had opened a dimestore and wanted Lonnie to manage it. Ray was working in grocery stores and bowling alleys, so moving was no problem.

Lonnie and Ray had two children at that time, LaRae Yvonne Robertson (March 20, 1931) and LaRoi Leon “Buddy” Robertson (August 22, 1933).

Lonnie and Ray moved into a big house in East Grand Forks, which they shared with Laura and Ernie Abel, Lonnie’s sister and brother-in-law. This didn’t last very long. Lonnie continued working for Ernie until he went bankrupt. The war had started and supplies were hard to get, so the business failed.

 In March 1942 Ray enlisted in the army. He loved the army more than his family, and they divorced.  Lonnie went to work for Bob and Jean Kiesan at the Home of Economy in Grand Forks.

She met Henning Olson some time in the early ’40s. They married in 1947. Henning was nine years younger than she was. He was a talented upholsterer and she was a talented seamstress. Henning had his own shop in Valley City, North Dakota, so Lonnie and her kids moved there.

 

Henning and Lonnie had two boys, Dru Loren Olson in 1948 and Bruce Lynn Olson in 1952. Henning, unfortunately, became an alcoholic and life was not good. He once sold an original Shirley Temple doll of LaRae’s for booze money.  Lonnie ran a Singer Sewing Machine store in Valley City.  Her daughter LaRae remembers her as “very pretty, talented, and a sweet person with a little girl quality about her.”

Lonnie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January 1964 and died the following December. She had smoked cigarettes from the time she was 16. Her only sister, Laura, also died of cancer at age 66. She too smoked. Before that the family curse seemed to be diabetes, which killed their parents and various Larson relatives.  Lonnie was a truly kind and generous person who never got any breaks. She was only 51 when she died.