LaVon Kirchmeier

1933 - 2024

LaVon Kirchmeier

August 4, 1933 - November 9, 2024

LaVon Kirchmeier, 91, of Beulah, died on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at Knife River Care Center. Services will be held Thursday, November 14, at 10:00 a.m. CST at Beulah Congregational Church with Reverend John Fanella officiating. Burial will follow at the Beulah City Cemetery.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, November 13, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. with a service at 4:30 p.m., at Barbot Funeral Home, Beulah.

LaVon was born August 4, 1933, in Zap, N.D., to Jacob and Bertha (Lang) Renke. She lived with her parents at the Zap Strip Mine camp. When she was ten years old, in October of 1943, they moved into Zap. Her brother, Harry, was born in 1945, and in June of 1950 the family moved to Beulah. LaVon attended school in Zap and graduated in 1951. She was confirmed at the Beulah Congregational Church.

Growing up in Zap, LaVon would walk to Main Street and get an ice cream sundae at Moos Drug Store on the west side, or go to Alta's Café on the east side. When she was in high school she attended dances at the Zap Dance Hall on Saturday nights. In her early years of high school, her Dad would drive her to and from the dances. When she was a senior the family lived in Beulah, so LaVon drove their old green pickup to Zap to attend school and the dances.

LaVon continued attending dances at the Zap Dance Hall after high school. It was at one of these dances that she met Dennis. She was standing in the northwest corner of the hall with the rest of the girls, visiting with her friend, Darlene (Fetter) Peterson, when Dennis came up and tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she would dance with him. That moment began a romance that would last for their lifetime. On New Year's Eve, after the last dance of the night, Dennis asked her to marry him.

On May 8, 1959, LaVon married Dennis Kirchmeier at the Beulah Congregational Church. Their wedding picture and her wedding dress are lovingly displayed at the Mercer County Historical Society Museum. Dennis and LaVon were married for 65 years, and they resided in Beulah for their entire married life.

LaVon worked for Mike Held at the Beulah Red & White grocery store, which later became the Jack & Jill grocery store. It was located on Main Street, east of the post office. She then worked at the Bank of Beulah, and she did bookkeeping for Field & Field at the Saturday livestock barn sales on the south side of Beulah. Lastly, she worked many years for Dr. James A. Power, optometrist, in Beulah, which later became Beulah Vision. She would take her coffee break in the café located in the basement of the Greystone Hotel, and later, at the Red Fox Café on the west end of Main Street.

LaVon was a lifelong member of the Beulah Congregational Church and Friendly Circle. She was a member of the Beulah Homemakers and the Eagles Auxiliary. LaVon enjoyed bowling for many years in the Midway Bowling League, beginning when the bowling alley was on the north side of Beulah's Main Street, and continuing at the Molco Lanes bowling alley in northeast Beulah.

LaVon remembered driving to Bismarck on Old Highway 10, before Interstate 94 was built. She attended movies at the Roxy Theater on Beulah's Main Street. She spoke fondly of attending dances at the Zap Dance Hall and at the beloved Sheep Shed south of Beulah. She was an avid fan of the Beulah Miners, and she was devoted to the town of Beulah.

LaVon is survived by her husband, Dennis; two sisters-in-law, Paulette Renke and LaVon Nesper; three nieces and one nephew; and numerous great-nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Harry.

Arrangements are conducted by Barbot Funeral Home, Beulah and Hazen.