LaVonne Carol Barker

LaVonne Carol Barker, age 72, of Uhrichsville, passed away in Union Hospital at Dover Tuesday morning, May 29, 2012 following a period of declining health.

A daughter of the late Roland Ray and Eula Mae (Blackwell) Gribble, LaVonne was born in New Philadelphia on October 20, 1939.

LaVonne graduated from New Philadelphia High School in 1958. During her schooling, she worked for the former W. T. Grant variety store in New Philadelphia.

After completing her formal education, she married her loving and devoted husband of 53 years, Gerald Glenn Barker on June 27, 1959. Together, they raised four children, Tracey, Tammie, Kevin, and Steven.

LaVonne was a member at Uhrichsville Church of Christ and greatly enjoyed gardening, canning, and cooking. She also loved to spend time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

After she married, LaVonne worked for B.F. Goodrich and then obtained her realtor’s license, where she practiced real estate at Small World Realty in Dennison. Ultimately, she found her career as a head cook at Uhrichsville Head Start to be incredibly rewarding. She worked there for 28 years fostering wonderful lifelong relationships in addition to spoiling all who ate there with her delicious meals.

LaVonne will be deeply missed by her husband Gerald; her children, Tracey (Jeff) Peterman of Dennison, Tammie (Russ) Taggart, Kevin Barker, and Steven (Staci) Barker, all of Uhrichsville; her sister, Bonnie Kay (Wes) Jordan of Powell; her brothers, Dan (Chris) Gribble of Dover and Phillip Gribble of West Lafayette; her grandchildren, Jason Peterman, Kelli (Chris) Callozzo, Branden White, Christopher White, Nathan Barker, Derrick Barker, and Santana Barker; 6 great-grandchildren; her brother-in-law, Jack Barker of Dover; and two sisters-in-law, Peggy Lewis and Connie (Ronnie) McDade, both of Dover. Several nieces and nephews complete the family.

Visitation will be held in the Linn-Hert-Geib Funeral Home & Crematory in New Philadelphia on Thursday from 1 to 3 and 6 to 8 p.m. A service celebrating LaVonne’s life will be held in the funeral home’s chapel on Friday beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Burial will follow the service in Dover Burial Park at Dover. Friends are invited to the Geib Funeral Center, located across the street from the burial park, following the committal service where a meal will be shared.