Obituary of Velda June Lawrence

Velda June Lawrence August 28th 1935 - September 25th, 2017 Hagerman, Idaho Velda June Lawrence (82) passed away peacefully in her home in Hagerman, Idaho surrounded by her loving family on September 25, 2017. Mom's life was a blessing, her memory a treasure, she was loved beyond words and will be missed beyond measure. Mom was born to Rufus and Florence Hall on August 28, 1935 in Saint Anthony, ID. She graduated salutatorian from Oakley High School class of 1953 and then graduated from Twin Falls Business College in 1955. While attending Business College, Mom was dragging Main Street and met the love of her life, Dave Lawrence. After dating for about six months, they were married on April 8, 1956 in Twin Falls, Idaho and remained happily married for 52 years. Upon getting married, they immediately started their family with the birth of Cherie Ann Lawrence in 1957. Jerry David Lawrence followed in 1958 with Cade L. Lawrence born in 1959. By the time, Mom was 23, she had three children to raise along with working at home doing Beeline. Needless to say she was a bundle of energy and fortitude to chase us kids around and still work on the side. Upon having Cade, both Mom and Dad decided they needed to take up snow skiing to keep themselves busy outside of the house. Skiing became a passion for both of them and after several years of learning they switched over to the teaching side. Both were ski instructors at Soldier Mountain where they instructed for over 10 years. While teaching as Soldier Mountain, they would setup their Shasta trailer at the resort parking lot and stay overnight during the winter with the kids and other friends. During that time, they passed their love of skiing onto their children and enjoyed many great ski trips together at Grand Targhee, Beaver Mountain, Mt. Bachelor, and many others. Mom continued her love of skiing and could be found on the slopes up to the age of 75 plus. Mom & Dad, also, had a love for camping & fishing so the summers were spent up in the Stanley Basin as Dad pursued the elusive salmon. Again, we would stay in our faithful Shasta trailer for a three week period of time before the harvest began. As family, we created great memories of angling, tubing the river, roasting marshmellows, shooting ground squirrels, enjoying the natural hot springs, and of course visiting Redfish Lake. Mom fell in love with Redfish during those outings and after the passing of Dad, she could still be found driving the Ford F-250 with camper for a week of camping at Redfish. In fact, Mom was scheduled for another Redfish camping trip on 8/30/17 when she found out that cancer had returned for a last time. When we kids got into school, Mom went to work for Idaho First National Bank in 1968 and then joined the Forest Service for 9 years as an information specialist. One of her highlights while working for the Forest Service was being the spokesperson for the Forest Service after the Mt. Saint Helens eruption. She was one of the first people to fly over and see the devastation caused by the eruption. Pretty cool. Mom & Dad were entrepreneurs at heart so in 1981, they purchased & operated the La Casita Mexican Restaurant in Twin Falls until 1989. All of the hard work by Mom & Dad allowed their three children to go to college and graduate with out student loans. What a special gift for us and our families. In 1995, Mom & Dad followed their dream to retire and live in the Hagerman Valley on the river. Mom felt that you are a little closer to heaven when you live by the water. During this time, they made many new friends with Dinner Club, Bridge Club, and Social events. After Dave's passing in 2008 Velda stayed involved in various activities including Mentor Club, Garden Club, Aerobics and Bridge Club. Mom brought us into the world and she raised us to be independent adults who would love and care for our families as she cared for us. When she passed so quickly we grieved but at the same time knew she was dragging main again with our Dad whom she called her soul mate. We, also, know that as a Believer, she would be greeted by Jesus with words from 2 Timothy 4:7. "You have fought the good fight, You have finished the race, You have kept the faith." We love you and will meet you again at the great reunion. Mom will be greatly missed by her children, family, and friends. She is survived by her daughter, Cherie (Scott) Grybek of Tampa FL, her son, Jerry (Robyn) Lawrence of Kimberly ID, her son, Cade (Julie) Lawrence of Portland OR, her sister, Gale Shark of Las Vegas NV, her brother-in-law, Terry (Mary) Lawrence of Twin Falls ID, her seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Mom was preceded in death by her husband Dave Lawrence, her parents Rufus and Florence Hall and her In-Laws Jack and Mary Lawrence. The Family would like to extend their thanks to Dr. Lisa Burgett, Dr. Jared Manning, and Vision's Hospice. A memorial service will be held at Rosenau funeral home in Twin Falls at 1:30 PM on October 14, 2017. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Hagerman Library or the Hagerman Senior Center.