LaVerne Lucille Farley, née Fries, was born August 10, 1942. She welcomed the passing of her body to enter the eternal Kingdom of God on December 3, 2023. She was preceded in death by her son Paul and husband Patrick.
As a Kappa Kappa Gamma coed beauty at Fresno State, LaVerne caught the eye of Patrick Carter Farley. They met while setting up a dance and eloped to Reno six weeks later. The couple set out on a life adventure involving the raising of ten children and the establishment of a beautiful vineyard on a farm on the outskirts of Fowler, in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. They worked together to build for their family a charming redwood-sided New England-style house surrounded by giant walnut shade trees.
LaVerne was known for her practical housekeeping, no-nonsense discipline, artistic creativity, and beautiful yards and gardens. Her family looked forward to coming home from church on Sundays to a lunch of pot roast cooked in the Dutch oven. On weekday mornings, her children often woke to find a large pot of oatmeal on the stove for breakfast because LaVerne had been out driving the tractor since 5:00 in the morning. She was a true, hard-working farm wife who also managed the family’s long-running U-pick grape business.
A voracious reader, LaVerne was well-known by the Fowler librarians for bringing her brood of children into the library every week. The library staff remembered how she would check out a stack of science fiction novels to read while she nursed her babies at home. LaVerne’s children benefited from her love of books as she read to them daily after lunch and before bedtime.
LaVerne’s life was not without sorrow. She grieved the deaths of her young son Paul, her husband of forty years Patrick, her brother Matthew, and her son-in-law Marcus Ergo with grace and dignity, knowing that they were in the loving care of their Heavenly Father. LaVerne dedicated her life to the upbringing of Christian children and grandchildren by consistently teaching them about their Savior and the Lutheran faith.
In her final years, LaVerne struggled with illness, but found great joy by being surrounded daily by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who gathered around her to play, sing, and pray. Her family witnessed the Holy Spirit continuing to work faith in her heart as, even in her diminished state, LaVerne was able to sing along with familiar hymns.
LaVerne is survived by her children, Patrick Jr. and his wife, Patricia of Lilburn GA, Mary Schulz and husband Leo of Kingsburg, Verne of Kingsburg, Sarah Russell and husband Scott of Clovis, Amanda Ergo of Kingsburg, Catherine Hambleton and husband Travis of Kingsburg, Jonathan and wife Keren of Kingsburg, David and wife Shannon of Tucson, AZ, and Daniel of Carson City, NV; sisters Paula Steinhauer of Mission Viejo, Patrina Boehringer and husband Reverend John of Watertown, WI; her twenty-four grandchildren, Rebecca and Sabrina Farley, Andrew and Niki Schulz, Joshua Schulz, Madeline Armstrong, Josephine and Quinn Farley, Alicia and Alan Branche, Mark and Kristen Russell, Zachary and James Ergo, Jack and Ryan Hambleton, Jonathan, Samuel, Rachael, Adam, and Lucille Farley, Connor, Logan, Molly, Patrick, and Adelyn Farley; her four great-grandchildren, Collin, Carter, and Calvin Schulz, and Chloe Armstrong; and numerous nephews and nieces.
A graveside Christian Funeral Service will be held at Mountain View Cemetery in Fresno, California on Monday, december 11, 2023 at 11:00 am.
