Laverne Jackson

LaVerne (Henrie) Jackson passed away on July 31, 2022. LaVerne was born on December 3, 1936 in Winton Wyoming to Clarence and Alice (Hanks) Henrie. The family moved to Jackson, Montana in 1947. LaVerne attended grade school in Jackson. Upon completion of 8th grade in Jackson, she moved to Rock Springs, Wyoming where she completed her freshman year of high school living with relatives. Her sophomore year of high school was in Highland Park, Illinois. The family moved to Dillon in 1953 and she returned home to complete her education at Beaverhead County High School, graduating in 1955. LaVerne married Martin Jackson February 14, 1956 in Elko, Nevada. Martin joined the army in June of 1956. Upon his return from the army in 1958, the two of them settled on the family ranch outside of Jackson. She spent the next 64 years calling Jackson and the ranch home. They raised their three daughters there and welcomed eight grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren into the family. LaVerne never met a stranger. She loved people and made so many friends through the years. There was not a place in Beaverhead County where she could go and not run across someone with whom she could visit for hours. LaVerne also enjoyed the outdoors. Camping trips with Martin, her daughters, her Dad and Mom, siblings, nieces and nephews was always a favorite. She loved to fish. Hours spent at the Cow Camp lake on the boat spinning rod on hand. Snowmobiling in the Big Hole mountains filled winter weekends with family and friends. LaVerne loved to travel. She made friends wherever she went. She loved road trips to reconnect and visit those friends who had moved away from the Big Hole. She was an avid reader. It was not uncommon for her to read into the wee hours of the morning. She enjoyed having coffee, sometimes for hours, with her good friends in Jackson. One of LaVerne’s greatest passions was her time on the school board of BCHS. She was elected to the board in 1975 and dedicated a big part of her life to that board for 44 years. She served as Vice-Chairman of the board for many of those years. LaVerne was preceded in death by her father Clarence Henrie, her mother Alice Henrie, a brother Warren Henrie, and a sister Lyla Trafelet. She is survived by her daughters Twyla (Jerry) Knight, Yvonne (Peter) Frick, and Thyral Sevalstad; her grandchildren Zeb (Cheyanne) Knight, Tate (Trinity) Knight, Erin (Nigel) Brown, Blaine Paddock, Jackie Sevalstad, Carl (Rudy) Sevalstad, Stephen Sevalstad, and Nathan (Hillary) Sevalstad; and 10 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters Betty Johnson and Sara Binam along with numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 6th at 2:00 pm with a viewing prior at 1:00 pm at Brundage Funeral Home. Graveside service to follow at Mountain View Cemetery.