Lavada Maxine Ockerman

1934 - 2020

Lavada Maxine Ockerman
May 8, 1934 - December 7, 2020
Charlotte, North Carolina - Lavada Maxine Ockerman died in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 7, 2020. She was born May 8, 1934 in Oaks, Oklahoma to the late Sidney Austin Dixon and Velma Lamont Dixon.
After graduating from Oaks High School, Lavada attended Northeastern State College, Tahlequah, Oklahoma where she met her husband William Richard. They married January 23, 1954 and moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas and then to Joplin, Missouri where their son Steven was born.
Mrs. Ockerman was a skilled secretary, taking jobs in the manufacturing and electronics industries. She was secretary for the Design Engineering Department at Bell Helicopter Company, Fort Worth, Texas and project secretary on the Huey Cobra Helicopter project from its inception. The family moved to Denver, Colorado, where she was an executive secretary at Samsonite Corporation, and then to Tempe, Arizona where she worked at Motorola Corporation. There, Lavada completed her college degree at Phoenix University and worked as a contracts administrator at Motorola until retirement.
Lavada dedicated herself to the care of her husband Bill in his final years then moved to St. Paul, Nebraska to care for her mother. After her mother's death, she joined her son and grandsons in Charlotte. Beloved, independent and optimistic, she passed away peacefully at home.
Survivors include her sister, Jean Lovett; son, Steven Blaine Ockerman and wife Dana Hurka; grandsons, Tyler Steven Ockerman and wife Hannah, William Wiles Ockerman and wife Sarah, and Franklin Perry Ockerman; and a great-granddaughter, Eleanor Rose Ockerman.
Services will be private for the family.
Memorial Contributions may be made to Oaks Indian Mission, 155 North Military Road, Oaks, OK 74359, or at https://www.oaksindianmission.org/.
Condolences may be offered at www.harryandbryantfuneralhome.com.