LaVelle Brenden was born as Clara LaVelle Haldorson in Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene, Oregon on December 31. 1929. Her parents were Elmer Haldorson and Anna (Erickson) Haldorson.

During the very first years, until she was in the second grade, LaVelle lived with her parents in the big house that Ole Haldorson had built west of Eugene, Oregon. As a little girl, she rode a horse named Ol’ Fly. The Ole Haldorson farm was sold in 1937. Her parents then moved to the house in Springfield, Oregon. In the last years of grade school, LaVelle was active in 4H especially with sewing and cooking activities.

In high school at Springfield, OR LaVelle laid the groundwork for going to college by taking the advanced college placement courses. She was also in the high school band where she played coronet.

LaVelle was active in Springfield Lutheran Church. Her parents were advisors to the youth organization known as Luther League. By this time the Brendens had moved to Oregon and were members of Springfield Lutheran Church. Lavelle and Byron first met at the Luther League Halloween party at her home. Her dad had invited Byron to come and meet the other members of Luther League. LaVelle’s first impression of Byron was “he was kind of cute…but a bit short.” Her best friend Barbara also thought he was cute which probably caused some competition for his attention. LaVelle was chosen as a delegate to the International Luther League Convention held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There LaVelle went dancing with another young man named Byron (not our dad).

LaVelle and Byron (our dad) nearly ended the relationship before it began. Byron told LaVelle he would pick her up after her high school band practice. He forgot. (Sounds like dad). She waited in the dark for him to show up. Eventually, she walked a mile or two to his house and knocked on the door. His mom Aurelia opened the door and called for him to come. He had been studying. He did drive her home…a chilly ride, I’m sure.

After graduation LaVelle worked at Montgomery Ward where she was a department head for children’s clothing. She did not attend college as she hoped. When Byron graduated from the University of Oregon, LaVelle and Byron were married On December 26, 1949.

LaVelle and Byron moved to Schenectady, New York where Byron took a job with General Electric. They next moved to Lynn, Massachusetts where Byron was assigned a new position. Each of these assignments was three months in duration. The couple then moved to Richland, Washington where Byron took a permanent assignment with General Electric’s Hanford Atomic Products Operation in the Optical Shop.

LaVelle was pregnant with their first child during the move to Richland. Sandra Christine Brenden was born December 27, 1952. Susan Cathleen Brenden was born January 28, 1955. Michael Andrew Brenden was born January 31, 1962.

She was very active in her children’s lives. She and Byron purchased a 5-acre ranch where their girls kept their horses and boarded other’s horses. LaVelle encouraged her daughters’ horse hobby by hauling their horses to many horse shows. Sue remembers the many shows she towed Sue and her horse and how mom watched all her classes except the jumping classes, which she said made her too nervous to watch. LaVelle taught her daughters and later her grandkids how to sew and helped them make many of their outfits. She was active in Michael’s love for entomology, taking him out for many bug expeditions. She and Byron raised their family in the Lutheran faith: Sunday School, Church, Confirmation, and big Sunday dinners. In fact, without fail, she was able to place a delicious meal on the table every evening for a family sit-down meal. They lived in a young neighborhood where everyone’s kids were welcomed into their homes, kids ran or biked up and down the sidewalks. When it was dusk, moms, including LaVelle called out the names of their kids to come home for dinner. LaVelle and Byron would take their family camping to Mt. Rainier areas. A big tent was pitched. A rock was heated in the fire, everyone was tucked into a sleeping bag. The girls were feet to feet with the hot rock in between their feet to keep them warm. Larger vacations were rare, but the family did go to Disneyland and Yosemite when Michael was 18 months old. There were a couple of visits a year to see Grandma and Grandpa Honey and Elmer or Grandma and Grandpa Aurelia and Vernon. The families were very close and supportive of each other even though they lived in Springfield and Roseburg OR. All trips were taken in the black Studebaker that they purchased back east then upgraded to a Buick when Michael was born, and Kippy (their pet puppy) was added to the family. After her grandchildren were born, she took trips to Lincoln City with her growing family. On the way her grandkids remember stopping at Multnomah Falls and feeding the fish at Bonneville Fish Hatchery. She always said when the ocean was near but not in sight, “I can smell the ocean, can’t you?”

LaVelle was a history buff. She was an avid reader and had a library of American history books and biographies. If she hadn’t bought the book, she would check it out at the library. She kept up on current events. She insisted that her kids, especially the girls, graduate from college and have independent careers of their own. No matter the children’s choices, she and Byron supported the choices that each of their children and grandchildren made.

LaVelle was a gardener. Her flower beds and yards were beautiful with pink dogwood trees, begonias, roses, hostis, impatiens, azaleas, and more. She kept a pond filled with koi fish under an old lilac tree. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren loved feeding her fish. Many mornings she would sit in her garden sipping coffee watching squirrels and birds feed from generously filled containers. She collected little stuffed squirrels and ceramic birds and placed them around her living room and near the Victorian Village that lined her bookshelf Byron had built her.

LaVelle was an expert seamstress. She talked about how proud she was that she sewed her wedding dress as a 19-year-old. For Sandra’s and Susan’s weddings she sewed their bridesmaid dresses and later sewed 5 bridesmaid dresses for her oldest granddaughter Kendra’s wedding. She sewed many outfits for her grandkids including Ninja Turtle and

Power Ranger costumes for the Bryce and Jordan. Bryce was the red Power Ranger and Jordan was the green one, though later he told Grandma he now wanted it to be the white one. When Bryce lost his superhero costumes in the fire, she resewed all of them for him. She continued the tradition that Grandma Honey started of sewing Wowwa Elephants for her grandkids and great grandkids until she couldn’t anymore. She sewed many stuffed toys, comforters, pajamas and couch cozies as gifts. Tiger jammies were sewn for the boys complete with detachable whippy tails. Unfortunately, Ryan had his tail temporarily taken away by his teacher on PJ Day because the tail was causing mischief. She sewed Thanksgiving turkeys that her first granddaughter loved. She sewed Mr. Rickety Rack skeleton twice for Sandra (since the first one burned up in the fire) and now it sits with her great grandkids each Halloween for a picture. She sewed horseshow outfits for Susan and a sports jacket for Michael that he still wears today. She showed her love for her family through her sewing. Ultimately, she became an artist at paper piecing creating gorgeous pillows, blankets, and banners for her family until she couldn’t anymore.

She also was gifted at creating arrangements from common weeds. She saw beautify in nature from a crooked stick to a spray of fall leaves. She made wreaths and arrangements from her collections. She enjoyed doing crafts with her grandchildren, especially Shrinky-dink art. Painting, drawing, sewing pillows was enjoyed by all her grandchildren. She helped Chad sew a large pillow using scraps of children’s material. Rachel and Sarah remember making hair scrunchies with her. Stephanie remembers making PJ pants with her. She always had a creative project for her grandkids to try. Project time could include yummy chocolate chip ice cream cones or her delicious grilled cheese sandwiches.

Family photos was important to LaVelle. She took many pictures and collected pictures from her children and grandchildren as they started their own lives. She compiled a library of photobooks to capture all those moments from being a young couple with little ones, to weddings, to births and sadly deaths. She had all these photos, cards, and announcements cataloged for all her family to relive.

LaVelle never wanted to talk about getting older or death until Byron died January 23, 2024. She lived two more years wishing she could be with him. LaVelle died January 25, 2026. They were both 96 when they passed. LaVelle was preceded in death by her husband of 75 years Byron, her parents Anna and Elmer, her two sisters Mary and Phyllis, and her grandson Kyle. She will always be loved. She will always be missed.