LAVERN A. WITHROW, 94

EAST LIVERPOOL – At 12:15 p.m. Sunday, July 9, 2017, LaVern Allene Withrow passed away at the age of 94 at Valley Oaks Care Center in East Liverpool, where she had resided for the past two years. Formerly of Warren, she had relocated to this area to be closer to her family. She now joins her husband and other loved ones who were waiting for her in Heaven.

A daughter of the late Asa Charles Borton and Hazel Vera Leiby Borton, she was born December 6, 1922 in Warren.

A graduate of Leavittsburg High School, she attended the Church of God Bible Training School and had taught at Northwest Bible College at one time. She was a “career woman” when others of her generation were not, and had been a PBX telephone operator for Trumbull County and had also worked the switchboard at Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Warren Telephone Company.

Known for her ability to make friends instantly, she had a sunny disposition which was recognized by all who knew her – most famously WYTV in Youngstown, where she was recently recognized as a “Hometown Hero” for her daily Facebook postings of the weather forecast. She was a proud volunteer for the American Red Cross and enjoyed visiting nursing home residents.

For nearly all of her life, she was an active and involved member of the Church of God, and joined the East Liverpool Church God when coming to this area.

She was preceded in death on August 23, 1971 by her husband, Homer Edward Withrow, whom she married on April 5, 1952.

Surviving is her daughter, Shirley Reed, of East Liverpool, as well as a granddaughter, Reverend Bethany Crouch and her husband, Bishop Ben Crouch, also of East Liverpool, and a grandson, Benjamin Reed, of Warren. There are two great-grandchildren, Kevin James Crouch and Ariana Joy Crouch.

LaVern was preceded in death by two sisters, Bernadine Green and Bernice Hurd, along with a brother, Harold Borton.
Friends may visit at the Dawson Funeral Home on Thursday, where the family will be present from noon until the time of the service at 2 p.m. LaVern’s grandson-in-law, Bishop Ben Crouch, will officiate.

LaVern will be laid to rest next to her husband at Crown Hill Memorial Park in Vienna, Ohio.