LaVonne Reinert, 90

LaVonne, known by her friends as Vonnie, was born to eternal life on her 90th birthday, July 10, 2024. She was surrounded by birthday cards, family and well wishes from friends and loved ones. She was joyfully reunited with her late husband, Vern, who passed away in 2021.

Services will be held Saturday, July 20, 2024, at All Saints Catholic Church (650 NE 52nd Ave. in Des Moines). Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m., with a Mass of Christian Burial to begin at 11 a.m. She will be laid to rest at Holy Name Cemetery in Marcus, Iowa.

Loving mom of seven children: Joel (Noelia) Reinert of Collinsville, Ill., Johnette Sigwarth of Chatham, Ill., Kolleen Miller of Scottville, Ill., Karl Reinert of Dubuque, Iowa., Mary Sue (Greg) Kulpins of Brookfield, Wis., VJ (Lee Ann) Reinert of Springfield, Ill., and Kirk (Michelle) Reinert of Pleasant Hill, Iowa. Proud grandmother of 14 grandchildren: Andy Reinert, Alex (Staci) Reinert, Karl (Erica) Sigwarth, Mallory (Lance) Hoffman, Molly (Ryan) Harper, Timothy Miller, Danielle Kulpins, Kristina Kulpins, Drew (Emily) Fendrich, Joe Reinert, Ben Reinert, Ellen Reinert, Grant Reinert and Katelin Reinert. And great-grandmother of nine great-grandchildren, Jamie and Miles Reinert, AJ Sigwarth, Ben, Sam, Max and Natalie Hoffman, Gus Fendrich and Madeline Harper.

Vonnie was a passionate fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, baseball and Iowa collegiate athletics. A St. Louis Cardinals game on the radio was a summer-time staple. With the advent of cable, one would typically find a game tuned in on the TV, from major league baseball to Iowa State football to Caitlin Clark basketball. She was team mother and scorekeeper for many Little League baseball games, as her late husband, Vern, coached and all the kids played growing up.

She enjoyed playing cards of all types, especially bridge. She was an accomplished bridge player, typically partnering with Vern. The kids' favorite part of bridge was stealing down to eat butter mints, peanuts, bridge mix and candy corn after their parents hosted an evening of cards. An active player, Vonnie was a member of at least three bridge groups last winter. In addition, she was a regular at the Vintage Hills canasta and hand-and-foot games.

Vonnie was a professional trailblazer. She graduated in 1958 with a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of South Dakota and was an active Alpha Phi alumna. She worked for the Internal Revenue Service and was the first woman in the state of Iowa to hold the position of office auditor. She switched to part-time bookkeeping after she had her third child. One strategic arrangement was to do books for the eye doctor to keep the family in glasses. Vonnie returned to accounting in the 1980s. Vonnie earned her CPA at age 51 — a lifetime goal of hers and retired from the state of Iowa Grain Warehouse Division in 1994.

She was an active volunteer in the community. Her activities ranged from heading the PTA to participating in the Altar and Rosary Society, delivering Meals on Wheels, working the polls, and chairing the Vintage Hills finance committee.

She was born in Hot Springs, S.D., and spent her formative years moving around the north-central and northwest, living the life of a miner's daughter. She grew up in Leadville, Colo., Granite Falls, Minn., Mullan, Idaho, Spokane, Wash., Kellogg, Idaho, Custer, S.D., and Columbus, Neb. In college, she was crowned Miss Roaring Gulch in a Lions Club parade organized by her father. She raised her family in Davenport, Iowa, and Ankeny, Iowa. She and Vern enjoyed traveling, visiting all 50 states, Germany, Austria and Italy.

She passed on her love of gardening to her children. Petunias were an annual favorite in her flower boxes. She could pull dandelions with the best of them. She was a strong advocate for her children's education and maintained strong relationships with the teachers in her kids' lives. Their homeroom teachers looked forward to the customary homemade banana bread gift from the Reinert children at Christmas. More than one teacher commented to the younger children that they felt LaVonne was a "saint" for all the work she put into supporting the kids' education and their extra-curricular activities (academics, sports and music). 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to MindSpring Mental Health Alliance, an independent local organization providing mental health education, support and advocacy. Donations may be made to www.mindspringhealth.org or 511 E. Sixth St., Suite B, Des Moines, IA 50309.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.memorialservicesofiowa.com.