Lavenia Mae Tilley (Calhoun), born on February 6, 1930 in Youngstown, Ohio, passed on February 3, 2023 due to complications from pneumonia while surrounded by family. She was the fourth of seven children and was raised in Everett, Pennsylvania. She is preceded in death by her parents (William B. Calhoun and Mary E. Calhoun (Richards)), three of her siblings (Margaret A. Buchanan (Calhoun), Edward B. Calhoun, and Clair E.Calhoun), and three husbands (Marle R. Miller, Cletus M. Miller “Maurice”, and Richard E. Tilley). She is survived by three of her siblings (Clifford A. Calhoun, Cleive W. Calhoun, and Lucinda P. Calhoun), her two sons and their wives (Barry D. Miller and Deborah E. Miller, and Maurice M. Miller, MD and Anne S. Miller) and her four grandchildren (Alexandra N. Miller, Andrew J. Miller, James M. Miller, and Grace A. Miller).
After Lavenia’s father served in the army during World War I, he moved to Youngstown, Ohio in search of work. While in Youngstown, he met and married her mother. Subsequently, they moved to a farm in Everett to be closer to her father’s family. Growing up on a farm during the Great Depression, like her siblings, Lavenia participated in helping maintain the farm to sustain the family, which became more difficult after her father passed when she was 10 years old. After graduating from Everett High School in 1948, she moved to Washington D.C. in search of employment. She worked for several decades as an accounting clerk.
She was an avid ballroom dancer, an excellent gourmet cook, a stylish dresser, a maker of clothing for husbands, children, and grandchildren, a lover of pets and animals, and a member of the Toastmasters Club. She believed in the American Dream, had a keen interest in the United State’s history and politics, and organized and became the president of the Laurel Women's Republican club. Her immediate and extended family were of utmost importance to her, and she devoted her life to them.
A visitation for Lavenia will be held Friday, February 10, 2023 from 2 to 4PM at Witzke Funeral Homes Inc., 5555 Twin Knolls Road, Columbia, MD 21045, followed by a funeral service at 4PM. A graveside service will be held Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 1PM at Mount Union Cemetery, 1211 Menchtown Rd., Everett, PA 15537.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.witzkefuneralhomes.com for the Tilley family.
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