Lavere Louise York

Lavere Louise York, 85, Overland Park, KS, passed away Sunday, November 19, 2017, surrounded by family. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., November 25, 2017, at Cullen Funeral Home in Raymore, MO, with burial in Raymore Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to funeral services at 10 a.m., November 25, 2017. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Joseph Medical Center Volunteer Auxiliary, 816-943-2775; or to Wayside Waifs, www.waysidewaifs.org

Lavere was born December 31, 1931, in Marion KS, to Henry and Carrie (Vogel) Metzler. As a child, she enjoyed living on a farm where she found her lifelong love of animals. She graduated from Marion High School in 1950, and often returned yearly with her family for Old Settlers' Day to celebrate with the town and her classmates. She worked in her parent's local restaurant famous for its burgers, later moving to Kansas City with her cousin for a job opportunity. This is where she met the love of her life, Billie E. York. Their first date was at Winstead's on the Plaza. On September 20, 1952, Lavere and Billie were united in marriage. They were blessed with three sons, Kelvin, Michael and Tim.

In addition to being a homemaker, mother and grandmother, Lavere worked at UMKC in the Records Dept., at Kopps Rug in Lenexa for 15 years, and as a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker/Reese-Nichols for 15 years. Later in life, she was a volunteer at St. Joseph Medical Center for 13 years, putting in over 2000 hours of service. She was a lifelong dog and cat owner, rescuing many animals over the years. She was an avid gardener, spending time nursing and growing plants and flowers both indoors and outdoors.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Carrie Metzler; her husband of 57 years, Billie E. York; and son, Michael Kem York.

Lavere is survived by her sons, Kelvin B. York (Cecilia), and Tim J. York (Danna); 6 grandchildren, Andrew York, Tim York, Jr. (Lauren), Emily Kelly (Shea), Samuel York (Aubree), Amanda Spohr (David), and Michelle Kaiser (Kelly).

Arrangements: Cullen Funeral Home, Raymore, MO 816.322.5278