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Verona Lafferty (94)
Date of Birth: 06/01/1914
Date of Passing: 04/02/2009
Resided in: Greenfield, Indiana
GREENFIELD-Verona (nee Blesse) Lafferty, born June 1, 1914, in St. Louis, Missouri, the fourth of five daughters, died Thursday, April 2, 2009. She is preceded in death by her parents, Marie Hedwig (Koerner) and Franz H. G. Blesse; and sisters, Dorothea Predoehl, Ruth Blesse, Esther Otten and Martha Urban. Survivors include her husband of 62 years, Roger E. Lafferty; her son, John and his wife, Aline, of Troy, Michigan; her daughters, Eva Krebs and her husband, Rick, of Forest Grove, Oregon and Beth Lafferty and her husband, Larry Spears, of Indianapolis. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Brian, Michael, Alec, Heidi, James and Matthew; three great-grandchildren, Emily, Kyle and Ryan; and several nieces and nephews.
A devoted nurse, Mrs. Lafferty served as a Captain in the United States Army for over three years, during World War II as an anesthetist. She was a member of the 21st General Hospital Unit, serving in North Africa, Italy, and France. She earned a Bronze Battle Star and the affectionate nickname “Gus.” Upon her return to the United States, she worked in various Veterans Hospitals in Colorado, South Dakota, and Indiana. She was a life long MO-Synod Lutheran, a life member of VFW Post 6903, Fortville, Indiana, and a charter member of the Women in Military Service of America. She finished five decades of nursing by working the last twenty years at Hancock Regional Hospital where she held many positions before retiring as the head nurse in Obstetrics. At her demise, she was under the care of a nurse whom she had once supervised 30 years previously. While many were the knowing recipients of her dedication and caring, there are hundreds of service members and infants who will never be truly aware of how much they benefited from her efforts on their behalf.
Funeral services for Mrs. Lafferty will take place on Monday, April 6, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. at Erlewein Mortuary in Greenfield with calling for two hours prior to the service. Reverend Kennneth Ballas of Cleveland, Ohio, will be officiating. Burial will take place at a later date. Memorial contributions in memory of Mrs. Lafferty may be made to Riley Hospital for Children. Friends may sign the online guestbook at www.erleweinmortuary.com or e-mail condolences to sympathy@erleweinmortuary.com.
Beneficiary
Memorial contributions in memory of Mrs. Lafferty may be made to Riley Hospital for Children.
Guestbook (Sign Guestbook) 
Prayerful Condolences
by: alexseawood, 04/05/09
Beth Lafferty and Family,
I pray for God's comforting presence at this time of yours lives. Thank God for a loving Wife, Mother and Grandmother and all the other wonderful relationships she had in life. I pray in the midst of your tears that you will find it a comfort that your tears are a healing gift from the Almighty. When there will be times that you think of her and the tears trickle down your faces, know that God cares enough to collect your tears of grief and sorrow. (Psalm 56:8)
I hope and pray that you will be reminded of your love one's legacy, (Ms. Gus) has left behind. Perhaps her loving spirit, integrity, honesty, dignity, commitment and thoughtfulness may be a few.
And my prayerful concern will be that you will meet at the Family Reunion where we will never again have to be faced with sickness, death, sorrow, tears, separation, heartaches and good-byes.
John the Revelator pens these words;
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, behold, I make all things new." (Revelation 21:4,5)
May God's Love, Mercy and Grace be sufficient to sustain you through these trying days.
Your Brother, Friend and Servant,
Alex W. Seawood
Gussie
by: susier, 04/04/09
I will always remember Gus as being so helpful to me and everyone she worked with on the OB Dept at Hancock...May she rest in peace..She will NEVER be forgotton..
Susie Dawson Rea
Peace be with you and yours
by: sgrundy, 04/04/09
Beth:
Please know my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family for "God's Peace and Comfort." I offer my sincerest condolences to each of you with respect to the loss of your mother.
Sincerely,
Steven D. Grundy/CTS Facilities Maintenance
My mother's friend
by: MarthaFitz, 04/04/09
My sincere sympathy to the Lafferty family. I didn't know Verona personally, but she was a good friend to my mother, Myrtle Miller, when they both worked at the Hancock Co. Hospital.
Love & prayers, Martha (Miller) Fitzgerald
Remembering Mrs. Lafferty, a very special woman
by: phunter, 04/08/09
To Mr. Lafferty, John, Eva, and Beth: You may remember me as Rev. and Terrie Butz's daughter, Pat, with whom you at one time attended Faith Lutheran Church, and who enjoyed a college friendship and walks to Valpo's old campus with you, Eva. It was my good fortune to work with Mrs. Lafferty (I never called her by her lovely first name) an entire summer and on holidays during college when I worked at Hancock Memorial. I remember her kindness, her beauty, her efficiency, and most of all her exemplary nursing skills, which saved the life of two mothers that I know of (both of whom suffered complications which "Gus" suspected, leading her to monitor them closely and call their doctors before the undiasnosed condition could kill them). She was funny as well as firm with her patients and co-workers, and now that Dr. Donn Hunter is my father-in-law, I know from him that she had a great reputation as an excellent nurse with the physicians. She once told me about helping defend Coventry Cathedral with others who tried to put out the fires on its roof. How I wish now that I had heard more of the stories of her interesting life. Having not seen her for years, it seems impossible to me that Mrs. Lafferty was 94 at the time of her death. I am glad to know that her faith in God and her love of her Lutheran heritage never wavered, because it now appears that the next time I get to see her will be when I greet her at the side of her Savior in Heaven. Sincerely, Pat Hunter (wife of Sam Hunter, also from Greenfield, now in Zionsville)