Ann Marie Laverdure (Beacom)

SIOUX CITY -- Ann Marie Beacom Laverdure, 86, formerly of Sioux City, died Dec. 20, 2009, in Westminster, Md., after a brief illness.

Services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, with the Rev. Merlin J. Schrad officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m., and a vigil service at 7 p.m., at Larkin Northside Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home. Online condolences may be sent to christysmith.com.

Ann was born in Sioux City on July 15, 1923, the eldest daughter of William H. and Ellen Brigid "Nelle" (Brislane) Beacom. She grew up in Sioux City and graduated from Cathedral High School in 1941, with honors. She attended Tri-State Business College and worked for International Milling Co., followed by employment with Wagner, Garrison and Abbott and Waitt-Hruska, livestock commission firms.

During World War II, she assisted with United Service Organization (USO) dances and teas and received recognition for her hours of service from Bishop Heelan of Sioux City. After the war, she met Francis I. "Curly" Laverdure in Sioux City, and they were married on June 14, 1947, at St. Joseph's Church in Sioux City. Ann and Curly were transferred from Sioux City to Wilson, N.C., Baltimore, Md., and Norfolk, Va. They were blessed with four children. Their final transfer took them to Minneapolis, Minn., where they raised their family and lived for 41 years.

Ann's interests included music, art and architecture. She was a talented homemaker, artist and devoted family historian. She was a long-standing member of the Guild of Catholic Women in St. Paul, Minn., and a volunteer at the Christ Child School.

Throughout her children's school years, Ann served as a parent volunteer for numerous projects. She was an awesome Girl Scout Cookie Chair and set a new standard for excellence when chairing "Dinner Theater" at Regina High School in Minneapolis. She was an excellent seamstress and could sew children's play clothes, a prom dress or musical theatre costume with equal ease. She thoroughly enjoyed music and could accompany songs on the piano at a moment's notice. Her lyric repertoire was vast and outstanding.

She is survived by her four children and their spouses, Edward Laverdure, Oklahoma City, Okla., Mary Frances (George) Deutsch of Cantonsville, Md., Nancy (John) Kolacke of Eden Prairie, Minn., and John (Michelle) Laverdure of O'Fallon, Ill.; her precious grandchildren, Kathleen (Barry) Chance of Shreveport, La., Brian Laverdure of Winston-Salem, N.C., Courtney, Caitlin and Brynn Laverdure, all of O'Fallon, Ill.; and her first great-grandchild, Jonah Chance is expected shortly. She is also survived by two sisters, Kathleen Beacom of Sioux City, and Virginia Beacom Miller of Folsom, Calif.; three sisters-in-law, Roseanna Ash of Sioux City, Marceline Myers of Allen, Texas, and Lorraine Beacom of Omaha, Neb.; several loving nieces, nephews and extended relatives; and many dear friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Francis; her parents; brothers, Julian, William and Gerald; a sister, Veronica "Bonnie" Dreves; and extended family members.