Lavona Joy Roush

LAVONA JOY (THORNDYKE) ROUSH

August 18, 1929 – March 16, 2026

Lavona was a dedicated and passionate mother, wife, artist, author and 4-H Champion.

She was born to Perry and Ruth Thorndyke, and raised on a farm near Lambert, Oklahoma. After her Father died in 1939, she spent much of her time helping run the family farm since her older brother had joined the Navy at the outset of WWII. Despite those demands, she also found time to excel in both academic and extracurricular activities. She became a state and national 4-H Champion, winning multiple trips, scholarships and awards including two trips to National Congress in Chicago. Ultimately, Lavona was awarded the President’s Trophy in Achievement in 1947 as the outstanding woman 4-H member in the United States. At that time, she received both a personal telegram from Harry Truman and a set of Sterling Silver flatware. As a result, she became a regular speaker at Kiwanis, Chambers of Commerce meetings and Rotary Clubs around the state. She was also a regular guest on national radio broadcasts, and appeared on the covers of magazines such as Hearth & Home and Varsity. After graduating from Lambert as Valedictorian of her class, she went to college at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University), where she majored in Fashion Merchandising. She joined Alpha Delta Pi, and was elected President of that sorority. She was on the Dean’s and President’s Honor Rolls, was Secretary of Orange and Black Quill, the Women’s Panhellenic Association and Sigma Delta Sigma, an academic sorority.

She married Eldon Roush of Carmen, Oklahoma on April 2, 1950. After moving back to the family farm in Lambert, she continued to serve her community as the President of the Lambert PTO, Junior Study Club, and WTL. She continued as an active leader in 4-H, with both of her children winning numerous state and national titles. She served as the organizing President of the Alfalfa County Hospital Volunteers, and Treasurer of the Library Board. She was also active in her church, United Way and many other local organizations. During this time, she remained actively involved in the management of her family farm which was awarded Centennial Farm status in 1999. As a young woman, she visited New York City and saw Marlon Brando in a Streetcar Named Desire and Henry Fonda in Mr. Roberts. This inspired a lifelong love of New York City and Broadway plays. As a result, she took each of her grandchildren on separate trips to New York City to see plays and experience the big city. Lavona loved to travel in general. She engineered long trips to Ireland, Germany, France, and Italy among other places before the internet was available. She also traveled extensively across the United States, visiting 49 of the 50 states, often in a camper with her husband, Eldon. She was also a lifelong artist. Not only did she create many paintings in oil, but she painted sets and created props for plays and events ranging from the Timberlake Show Choir, to church pageants, to the Selenite Players. She also created an outstanding collection of hand painted and carved duck decoys that are prized by collectors around the country. Never one to stand on her laurels, she wrote and published two children’s books: The Gobblin’ Goblin, in 2017 and The Hurry Scurry Woolly Bear in 2025.

Lavona is survived by her son, John Roush and wife, Cynthia (Cincinnati, OH); daughter, Suzanne Jenlink and her husband, Ron (Jet, OK); grandchildren, Michael Thorndyke Roush (Chicago, IL), Jeffrey Ryon Roush (Milwaukee, WI), Beth Holderby Acre and her husband, Charlie (Canton, OK); David Holderby and his wife, Gwyn (Byron, OK); great-grandchildren, Mya and Hunt Holderby and Ladd and Suzanna Acre. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews and their spouses and children: Perry Thorndyke (Palo Alto, CA), Luanne Thorndyke (Boston, MA), Julie Thorndyke (Atlanta, GA), Mike Haley (Houston, TX), Kirk Roush (Ponca City, OK), Connie McKee (O’Fallon, IL), and Carol Hutchison (Wichita, KS).

She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Eldon G. Roush, her mother and father, Ruth Edwards Thorndyke and Perry Thorndyke, her brother and sister-in-law, Wayne and Mary Lou Thorndyke and her nephews Jim Haley and Carl Roush.

A celebration of life service will be held on Monday, April 27 at 1:00 p.m. at the First Christian Church of Cherokee, Oklahoma. Arrangements are by Lanman Funeral Home, Inc. Of Cherokee.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you send a card with a special memory or send a donation to the Carmen Pleasant Ridge Cemetery Association, c/o Lanman Funeral Home, 1305 South Grand, Cherokee, OK 73728.