LaVonne E. Reed

LaVonne E. Reed passed peacefully surrounded by love and family on October 1, 2022, at 9:00 pm at the age of 86 years at Cumberland Rehab and Health Care in Greenup, Illinois.
Graveside services will be on Thursday October 6, 2022, at 11:00 am at the Berry Cemetery. The Barkley Funeral Chapel in Toledo, IL is assisting the family.
LaVonne is survived by her daughter Peggy (Jerry) Stewart; her dog Dinkie; grandchildren Amanda Bates, Michael (Christine) Couch, Laura (Ridge) Marin, Jason Stewart (Amber Scales), Jamie Smith (Clayton Bayley), Julie Hamilton, Scott (Leah) Whitley; great grandchildren John Couch, Kyle Couch, Kayla (Jon) House, Asa Wingard, Lainee Stewart, Peyton Stewart, Cooper Stewart, Eli Stewart, Tyler Smith, Lucas Smith, Hunter Hamilton, and Colton Hamilton; great-great grandchildren Natalie Sancillo, Ember Sancillo, Keenan Sancillo; and her very special best friend and card playing buddy, Crystal Morgan. LaVonne was preceded in death by her mother and father, brother Butch Hart, infant sister Luwanna Hart, her husband Jap Whitley and her husband Jim Reed, daughters Sandra Couch and Kathy Kimbro, stepson Armon Whitley and grandson Cody Kimbro.
LaVonne was born in Waldron, Arkansas on April 26, 1936, to Ione (Solomon) and Richard Hart. After high school, she moved to Illinois and on September 4, 1954, married Jap H. Whitley. Together with their 3 daughters, they ran the Dell Haven restaurant and motel in Greenup for years, then the Rainbow Café in Toledo, the pool hall on the square in Toledo, and later the Antique store. She worked at Kern Manufacturing in Neoga. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting, reading, true crime books, hunting mushrooms and time with family. Jap passed in 1980.
On November 8, 1984, she married Jim Reed and they moved to Hardy, Arkansas. Together they built a house. He was a truck driver and she waited tables and cooked in local restaurants and various other jobs. Then she got her truckers license and they both were truck drivers for years. She saw a lot of the United States from the truck. She loved playing and usually beating anyone who would dare challenge her to scrabble or a game of cards. They were married for 11 years until his death in 1995.
In 2018, she moved back to Illinois for an easier life. She enjoyed playing bingo at the legion and cards with friends. She was quite a character. She loved joking with family, friends, and all the special nurses, doctors, and care givers on her journey.
She will be deeply missed by her family and friends, and all who crossed her path. Memorials can be made to the Cumberland Rehabilitation Auxiliary. Online condolences can be expressed at www.barkleyfuneralchapels.com.
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