Lavara Randolph

Lavara Randolph was born on May 8, 1945, in Council, North Carolina, to the late Odessa McMillan McLean, and Nathan McLean. She was nine of thirteen children born to this union.

At an early age, Lavara confessed her faith in Christ at Piney Grove Baptist Church. She was educated in the Bladen County School District and graduated from East Arcadia High School with honors. Lavara was captain of the basketball team, had a love for cooking, and excelled in her sewing class. After graduating from high school, she moved to New York to join her siblings who had already established their homes there.

Lavara was united in marriage to John Stanley Randolph, and together they had two daughters, Donna and Verna. She retired from the Connecticut Department of Social Services, where she worked for many years. Lavara was a longtime resident of New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to Springfield, Massachusetts, where she became a member of Canaan Baptist Church of Christ.

Lavara was an excellent cook, with specialty dishes including black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread. She was very active in her church and often said, "I love my church and my church family." Lavara was sincere, caring, and always ready to share a kind word that would lift the spirits of those around her.

Lavara was a devoted wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and friend. She was preceded in death by her parents, Odessa and Nathan McLean; five brothers and two sisters, Nathan Jr., Willie Thurman, Luther, George, James, Christine, and Alice; three sisters-in-law Catherine, Clara, and Dorothy; and one brother-in-law, Saint Joseph Love.

Lavara leaves to cherish memory of her husband, John; daughters Donna Womack (Jerome) of Birmingham, Alabama, and Verna Randolph of New Haven, Connecticut; stepdaughter Joi Randolph of Enfield, Connecticut; six grandchildren: Darryl Walker, Jr, Devin Womack, Latricia Walker, Johnaya Randolph, Laquan Jones, and Honesty Holloway; great-granddaughter Imani Jones; brothers Robert (Mary) and Johnny; three sisters, Queen Elizabeth, Sarah (Wayne), and Martha (Bernice); one sister in law: Marie, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends who will forever remember her laughter, warmth, and kindness.