LaVerda Louise Shaver

Born on July 5, 1927 in Bushnell, Illinois, LaVerda Louise Barnes soon moved to the small town of Barry, surrounded by endless cornfields. There she lived with her parents, Loy and Bertha Barnes and younger brother Loy Jr. in the home of her mother's parents, John and Emma Flick, who served as her surrogate parents while her own parents worked late hours at their dry cleaning business. With coaching from her grandfather when he wasn't helping run the family farm, and with elocution lessons, LaVerda memorized and recited many a poem and song. Being able to "say a piece" on short notice was very important there back then. At age eight before penicillin had been developed, she almost died from pneumonia. Her last three years of high school were completed in Louisiana, Missouri, after her parents moved to this town on the Mississippi River, just south of Mark Twain's Hannibal. As a mere sophomore she was entrusted with doing the bookkeeping for Sizemore's Department Store and spent her lunch hours walking to the bank to deposit the day's receipts.

As Outstanding Girl, upon her graduation in 1945 she was recommended to become a "government girl," so at age 18 she rode a bus to Washington DC to live in a dormitory full of young women working for the government, just a couple of months before the end of the war. LaVerda was scolded by the dorm housemother for moving her bed to keep the red light at the top of the Washington Monument from keeping her awake at night. After working for a year for the Navy Department as a clerk-stenographer by day and attending night classes at George Washington University, unfortunately she was called home because her family needed her.

While working back home for Missouri Edison, she met Eugene Martin Shaver at a dance held in a quonset hut. When he asked her out, she said, "No, I'm sorry but this is the weekend that I take the bus to visit my grandparents," Gene found a workaround by offering to pick her up in Barry on Sunday afternoon and taking her to dinner on the way home, but not before granting her grandfather's request to drive him to the town cemetery to view his and his (living) wife's headstone made of "good Vermont granite." LaVerda rode in the backseat, perhaps somewhat amused at this first date, while appreciating Gene's consideration for her beloved grandfather. LaVerda and Gene married in 1951.

The couple spent seven years in Grand Island, New York, where LaVerda's mother moved in with them and Janet and Alan were born. Fleeing the blizzards and snow shoveling, they moved to Orangevale, California, near Sacramento. Gene worked as a chemical engineer for Aerojet General and later, LaVerda as a secretary at McClellan Air Force Base. After nine years they moved to Novato. Gene then worked as a nuclear engineer at Mare Island Naval Shipyard and LaVerda as a hearing assistant for a judge at Social Security. Following her husband's fatal bicycle accident in 1984, LaVerda continued to work until she retired at age 65, which was 33 years ago.

As Nana to her grandsons Drew and Reed, she would drive many a Friday night after work to Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, where they lived. The boys' faces lit up, as did hers, while they ran to her excitedly shouting "Nana!" On Monday she would leave at 5:00 am and was at work by 8:00 am. Over the years Nana attended every important event in her grandsons' lives, including many sports, Scouting, school and milestone events. She had the boys stay with her and took them places new to them. She and her grandsons always shared a very special love.

To better understand LaVerda, you need to know that when she was in junior high she was sad because she didn't know the purpose of her life. Being an exemplary student, helping her grandmother with her 200 chickens and many household chores, babysitting to help with her own expenses, attending Sunday school and church-these were all very good, but she wanted a clearer meaning to her life. Then one Sunday in church she heard a song called "Brighten the Corner Where You Are," and that song became her guiding star.

She found great joy in brightening corners wherever she could throughout her life. She never expressed that she was doing these things to earn her way to heaven or to accumulate brownie points with God or humans. She did them because they were her calling. She was kind to others, helping a black girl with algebra despite the disapproval of her white high school friends. Later she wanted to help the Presbyterian Church of Novato (PCN) remain the positive influence and home for others that it was for her, so she dove into supporting it, in some areas where she was very comfortable serving and in others that challenged her, but because there was a need and no one else had stepped forward, LaVerda sometimes did. She trusted that the Lord would provide ways for her to contribute, and apparently He did. She served as an elder, a deacon, president of United Presbyterian Women, leader and member of women's Circles, Sunday school teacher and vacation Bible school for children volunteer. She trained as a Stephen (peer) Minister and served on the committee for support of Marin Interfaith Jail Chaplaincy, committee for support of students at S.F. Theological Seminary, the PCN program for listening to children read at Lynwood Elementary School, as an officer of the large and active Mingling Singles fellowship group, on kitchen cleanup crew, and more. Even as LaVerda grew weaker during her last few years, Janet and Alan took her to church often because it was so important to her.

Outside (and inside) of the church she was mother to Janet and Alan, a role that she said was her favorite job, although later being a grandmother seemed to tie for first place. She planned food and packed for many family camping trips. She served as PTA President, Assistant Girl Scout Leader and as Boy Scout Troop Committee member, along with her husband. After Gene suddenly died when she was only 57 years old, as she was still learning to deal with her grief she became an informal counselor to recently widowed women, and after her knee replacement she urged others to work through the pain and do their physical therapy. She was known for driving people to medical appointments, coffee shops or on Sunday drives, and for providing casseroles and a listening ear. She cared for her ailing mother, Bertha Barnes, daily after returning home from work.

While living in New York, in 1956 she was invited to join PEO, a philanthropic and educational organization of women. She helped found Chapter SS in Novato, serving as its first president. Not having been able to fulfill her own dream of earning a college degree, she was pleased to be able to support other women in achieving their educational goals for 69 years.

LaVerda did do some things simply for sheer pleasure, such as going on evening sails with her husband in their catamaran on Folsom Lake, and on frequent long bicycle rides with him and good friends in Velo Club Miwok. She also continued to grow her treasured camellias and roses, which she enjoyed displaying in her home, and for which she had won awards at the Sacramento Rose and Camellia shows. She developed lasting friendships with her neighbors, including a bocce ball "gang," with her church family, PEO sisters, and with her colleagues in the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Social Security Administration. She enjoyed meandering drives with good friends to gaze at beautiful West Marin, Sonoma and Napa, to discover new places to "lunch" and explore. She loved her special travel adventures, the most unusual being a bicycle trip on gravel roads through villages in Gorbachev's Soviet Union. "Perestroika!" cried the villagers, waving arms and aprons at the international cyclists rumbling by.

On December 21, 2025 LaVerda passed on to be with the Lord at age 98, predeceased by her father Loy E. Barnes, her mother Bertha Flick Barnes, her brother Loy J. Barnes and her husband Eugene (Gene) Shaver. She is survived by her son Alan (Al) Shaver, who was her primary caregiver during the last six years of her life; her daughter Janet Thayer, LaVerda's secondary caregiver; Janet's husband Cleveland Thayer, LaVerda's grandsons Drew and Reed Thayer, Drew's wife Lillian Hancock, and LaVerda's great grandchildren (gifts from Drew and Lillian) Baxter (5) and Wren (3).

Her family is grateful for the friends and church Deacons who visited and telephoned LaVerda during the past few years and for church members who greeted her with warm words, hugs and pats on Sundays. They are also grateful for the conscientious care given to her by Dr. Jun Yang and the other members of LaVerda's Kaiser care team.

LaVerda was a faithful member and supporter of PCN, regardless of who was pastor, for 59 years, never promoting or condoning dissension in the church. She attended Bible classes, feeling that she knew so little about the Bible, but her life of giving to others and enjoying her family and friends was evidence that she did indeed know the heart of Jesus as she had met Him in the Bible and in her life. We invite you to draw inspiration from these lyrics, each in your own way, as she did.

Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar.....
Though into one heart alone
May fall your song of cheer,
Brighten the corner where you are.

A Celebration of LaVerda's Life will be held on March 7 at 2:00 pm at the Presbyterian Church of Novato, 710 Wilson Avenue, Novato, California, followed by a reception at the church.

Please post your memories of LaVerda at legacy.com for family and friends to enjoy.

In lieu of flowers, you might wish to contribute to one of these two favorite causes of LaVerda.

College scholarships for senior girls graduating from high schools in Novato:
Please direct checks to the P.E.O. Executive Office, Treasurer's Dept., 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312. Make checks payable to "SS/CA Local Scholarship" and in the memo write "In memory of LaVerda Shaver." Online donations can be made at: https://peo-portal.com/donations?step=0

Church sponsorship of local community services e.g. Homeward Bound for the unhoused and North Marin Community Services:
Please direct checks to PCN, 710 Wilson Ave., Novato CA 94947. Make checks payable to PCN and in the memo write "LaVerda Shaver missions."
Online donations can be made at pcnovato.org → Give → Give Online → Fund - In memory of; enter Amount; Comments - "LaVerda Shaver missions"