Vera LaRue

March 10, 1923 - May 8, 2018

R. Vera LaRue, 95, of rural New Sharon, died Tuesday, May 8, 2018, at the Mahaska Hospital in Oskaloosa. She was born March 10, 1923 in Keokuk County, Iowa, the daughter of Homer and Lela Benson DeWitt. Vera graduated from the Lacey High School with the class of 1941. After high school, she worked as a waitress in Illinois; and then as a clerk at the J. C. Penney store in Oskaloosa, and then the old Leader Department Store. On June 10, 1946, she was united in marriage to Okley J. LaRue at Montezuma, and he died on August 16, 2003. Together they farmed near New Sharon for many years. Later in her married life, Vera worked as a waitress in New Sharon, and later as a cook at the A. & W. in Oskaloosa. Vera had been a longtime member of the Iowa Women’s Bowling Association (IWBA), and she bowled for many years in leagues with her husband, Oakley, and with her daughter, Carolyn. She also was the secretary of bowling leagues for many years, keeping records of bowler’s scores. She attended the Lacey United Methodist Church. Her family includes her children, Ronald LaRue of Littleton, Colorado and Carolyn LaRue of rural New Sharon; four grandchildren: Twin granddaughters: Marci Fisher and Mendi Graybill, and Jenny Wagner, and Taylor LaRue; five great grandchildren: Kendal, Kevin, Christian, Caden, and Chase. She is fondly remembered as a loving and self-less mother and grandmother, and a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan. Also surviving is a brother, Donald (& Lucille) DeWitt of rural New Sharon, and a sister in law: Pearldene DeWitt of New Sharon. Besides her husband, Vera was preceded in death by her parents; three brothers, Alvin, Eugene, and Raymond DeWitt, and a sister, Evelyn Walraven. Funeral services will be held Friday, May 11, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. in the Bates Funeral Chapel in Oskaloosa with Pastor Kevin W. Smith officiating. Burial will be in the Friends Cemetery at New Sharon. Visitation with the family will be Thursday from 5 – 7 p.m. at the funeral chapel. The family requests in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lacey United Methodist Church.