Laronda P. Hart

A funeral service will be held on Friday, August 23 at 2:00 PM at Memorial Funeral Home, 1217 Business Loop 70 West, in Columbia, with interment at Memorial Park Cemetery to follow.

Born in San Diego, California on December 6, 1943 to Howard and Evelyn (Pruden) Hart, Laronda came from a musical family. She learned to play guitar at a young age and grew up singing with her four siblings and parents.

Laronda was very independent and was proud of her ability to take care of herself and her family. When her children were young, she often made their clothes herself. She was a crafty person with many talents. She was active with her daughter’s Bluebirds troop and her sons remember her helping to fashion small race cars out of wood as a Boy Scout den mother.

She was a longtime employee at Greyhound and later as an airport security guard. At home, she enjoyed spending time with her late cat Sassy, as well as collecting teddy bear stuffed animals and figurines.

Laronda is survived by her three children, Michael (Pam) Rooks, Sharell (Ron) Hill and Terry (Brenda) Rooks; sisters Shirley Barger and Saundra Schneider; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild, as well as her dear friend and caretaker Georgia Johnson. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by two brothers, Lynn and Larry Hart, and a grandson, Robert Rooks.