Laverne

At 87, Laverne reflects on life considering his has been a full, and rich life with his wife, Doreen, and three children Denise, Janine, and Cameron. Laverne describes a house fire in their Grand Prairie acreage home in 1981. Laverne suggests the fire is not a big memory in life. He pauses to reflect upon Kierkegaard’s statement “Life can only be understood backwards.” He’s reflecting upon his past in discussion with artist, Mary, relishing the quality and variety in his life.  Big memories for Laverne involve his family, where they lived exploring nature, and his long educational career started as an elementary teacher in Dickson, Central Alberta.
Laverne taught at Evergreen Elementary school. He admits to making mistakes as a teacher but felt supported by the community.  A farmer told him the community expected a good Christmas concert. Laverne focused his efforts producing such a concert, upset by a Superintendent’s visit, as they rehearsed. The Superintendent suggested his students would long remember concert preparations over anything else he taught. Laverne learned the value of emphasizing what is truly important.
When asked about disappointments in life, Laverne declares “a person can’t live 87 years without regrets.” His midyear transfer to another school in Red Deer School Division without explanation was disheartening. He wondered if he’d done something wrong. The situation worsened when the farmer who advised about concert expectations told Laverne that he’d betrayed them. A difficult situation, Laverne gained insight into the inevitability, but difficultly of change. Laverne met Doreen Loberg, his future wife of 59 years in 1957. He insists he didn’t know her until they met at a weekend reunion at Camrose Lutheran College. Doreen and Laverne’s courtship was long, while Doreen completed her RN training.
In 1960, they were married in Grand Prairie. Then, grooms wore pink and charcoal: that’s what Laverne wore. Doreen liked it. Their wedding photo is displayed in Laverne’s home. Their life together included: Cross-country skiing, farming, boating at Bear Lake and Dickson on the Raven River. He moved his family to Edmonton to study one year to be a counsellor. For twenty-six years, he counseled in Grande Prairie and later at Grande Prairie College, while farming part-time. He declares looking back he would not change anything.