LAVONNE SOMMERS TOLLERUD

90, passed away in Eugene, Oregon on February 5, 2019.
LaVonne was born in 1929 in Amery, Wisconsin and attended North Dakota State University where she met and married Gordon Tollerud. They built a long life together over 59 years of marriage before his passing.
LaVonne graduated as a dietician and studied the art of cooking wherever she was. LaVonne opened her first cooking school in the kitchen of her house in Oxen Hill, MD. She ran the Copper Kitchen in San Antonio and began Creative Cookery in Honolulu. Creative Cookery brought her many friends and she was able to host visiting chefs from around the globe.
LaVonne always dealt with arthritis pain and had many surgeries over the years. She tried not to complain and only wanted to live her life the best way she could. After her husband’s passing she remained in Hawaii until moving to be next to her son in Oregon.
She spent the last 4 years of her life in a retirement community in Eugene, Oregon where she led Gingerbread House workshops and gave instruction to the kitchen staff about improving how they serve meals.
LaVonne is survived by her son, John and his wife Leanne and their 2 daughters of Eugene, Oregon. As well as her daughter, Joan and husband Kurt Sadorf and their 2 daughters of San Diego, California.