Her funeral service will be held Friday, July 24, 2026 at 11:30 am at the Harvest Valley Church with Pastor Ben Cross officiating. Interment will follow at Mitchell City Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday from 5-7 pm at Dugan Kramer Funeral Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to LaVonne’s family to be designated at a later date. Fond memories and condolences may be left at www.dugankramer.com, for the family.
LaVonne was born on March 23, 1931, in Gering, Nebraska, to Emmitt and Freda (Leonard) McKinley. She attended Lincoln Elementary School and later graduated from Gering High School in 1949. On July 18, 1953, she was united in marriage to the love of her life, Adolph “Jim” Alexander Nortness. They were happily married for 43 years. Together, they built a life created on faith, family, hard work, and raising their children: Carol, Mary Ellen (Moon), and Jerry.
LaVonne and Adolph made their home on a farm near Mitchell where she embraced the joys and rewards of farm life. She took great pride in caring for her family and helping on the farm. She especially loved helping with potato harvest. In addition to her role at home, she served the Mitchell community as a bus driver for Mitchell Public Schools for 30 years. She was known for her kindness, dependability, and the care she showed to the students she transported each day.
Family was the center of LaVonne’s life. She particularly enjoyed attending her grandkids and great grandkids’ sporting events and activities, proudly cheering them on from the sidelines. She was their biggest fan, celebrating every milestone and accomplishment with unwavering love and encouragement. She enjoyed camping, gambling, fishing, turkey hunting, and riding motorcycles with her entire family. Her gentle spirit, warm smile, and steadfast devotion to her family created memories that will be cherished for generations.
LaVonne is survived by her children, Carol (Kenney) Farrington, Mary Ellen (Karl) Farrington, and Jerry (Brenda) Nortness; her grandchildren, Candace (Joey) Muhr, April Nortness, Morgan (Caleb) Kinnaman, Courtney Meininger (Cole Shultz), and Annie (JJ) Weidaman; her great-grandchildren, Kaylynn and Kaysen Muhr, McKenzie and Weston Meininger, Zoey and Wyatt Weidaman, and Huxley, Bryxton, and Porter Kinnaman. She is also survived by her sister, Marilyn Fulk and her brother, Frank McKinley; along with numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Emmitt and Freda (Leonard) McKinley; her beloved husband, Adolph “Jim” Alexander Nortness; her granddaughter, Ashley; her great-granddaughter, Bailee; sister. Twila; brother-in-law, Lester Fulk; sister-in-law, Dorothy McKinley; brother-in-law, Donald Fulk; and grandson-in-law, Kyle.
LaVonne will be remembered for her quiet strength, caring heart, unwavering love for her family, and the joy she found in supporting those she loved. Her legacy lives on through the family she cherished and the many lives she touched with her kindness.
The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Heritage Estates for making LaVonne's final years truly like home. Their compassion, kindness, and exceptional care brought comfort, not only to LaVonne, but to our entire family. We are forever grateful for the love and dignity you showed her.
