Gladys Lavonne Anderson

KNOXVILLE - Gladys Lavonne Anderson, 98, passed away on Monday, July 24, 2023 at Parkwest Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was preceded in death by husband, Daniel Edwin Anderson, brother, Charles Ernest Delashmutt and sisters Eleanor Ruth Delashmutt Hubbard and Evelyn Margaret Delashmutt Rock and son-in-law Joaquim (Jack) Lewis Heck, Jr. Lavonne is survived by son Vernon Lee Anderson of Orlando, Florida and

Lisa Ruth Anderson Heck of Knoxville, Tennessee. Lavonne was born on June 5, 1925 in Onawa,

Iowa to Ernest Nelson Delashmutt (1890-1986) and

Emma Ruth Beigel Delashmutt (1892-1994.) The family lived on a farm that had been obtained from the Swamp Land Company in the 1860’s after the Sac and Fox tribes vacated the land following an 1842 treaty. Lavonne attended a one room schoolhouse through the eighth grade with some of her cousins. She then moved to Onawa to attend high school during the week. There she took typing and business courses as electives. After high school she moved to Kansas City to go to business school. Upon graduating, Lavonne worked for the American Red Cross and then at the North American Aviation Plant in Kansas City, Kansas. The plant produced B-25 airplanes for WWII. There she met Daniel Edwin Anderson from Chicago, Illinois. Dan was in the Army Air Corps and was a facilitator on the production floor. She said Dan was a handsome man who had his uniforms tailored. He received many catcalls from the Rosie the Riveters that worked on the lines. She never thought that he would be interested in her. They were married December 27, 1944 in Chicago.

After the war, Dan attended the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana on the G.I. bill, where he earned an Industrial Management Degree. Lavonne used her secretarial skills though out Dan’s college studies and beyond until Lisa was born in 1953 and Vernon in 1955.

Dan’s jobs took the family around the country: Missouri, Indiana, California, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Virginia and finally to the Seattle area of Washington. She had a satisfying career as an executive secretary for the head of Palmer Lewis Company. There she formed several long lasting friendships. Dan and Lavonne chose to retire and stay in Seattle. They loved to travel and took many cruises and tours. They visited China, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South America.

After Dan’s death in 1995, Lavonne continued to travel with friends and relatives and visited Russia, Morocco, parts of the Mediterranean and more European countries.

Lavonne lived in Seattle until she moved to the Sherrill Hills Independent Living Community in Knoxville in 2013. She made friends and enjoyed living there. A few months before her death, she moved to Arbor Terrace Nursing home.

She will be remembered for her elegance, kindness and good sense of humor. Many that knew her use the word “sweet” to describe her. She will be truly missed.