Venita Fern Day (Haden), 83 of Nixa, MO, went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.
Venita was born near Ava, MO, on February 26, 1938, to Etcyle Dewitt and Thelma (Osburn) Haden. She moved to Springfield following graduation and met the love of her life, Leo, at Kraft Foods. The two were married June 9, 1957, and from this union was born Kevin, Kraig, Kyle and Kristi.
As a child, Venita received Christ as her Lord and Savior at Spring Creek Baptist Church and was later baptized in Beaver Creek in the middle of winter.
Venita and Leo were members of South Haven Baptist Church, where they raised their family, for 60 years. Venita served faithfully in choir, Saints Alive choir, Chamber Choir, Havenly Singers, Vacation Bible School, Marketplace and as the church dietician for 20 years. She will forever be remembered for her coconut cream pies and cinnamon rolls. She was most proud of holding the record for the highest bid for her pies for the SHBC men’s building trip auction.
While raising her own children, Venita was also a loving childcare provider for dozens of other children who all instantly became family. Always welcoming, she never knew how many extra children would be around the dinner table each evening or how many would be around the breakfast table the next morning.
Venita earned her realtor’s license in 1986 and proudly worked for Carol Jones Realtors.
Venita was preceded in death by her loving husband of 64 years, Leo Smith Day, her parents, her brother Walter Darrell Haden and her sister Kathryn (Haden) Hamilton. She is survived by her children Kevin Day (Gretchen) and Kraig Day (Katy) of Springfield, MO, Kyle Day (Gil Mallory) of Tampa, FL, and Kristi Hutto (Justin) of Dallas, TX, her brother James Loren Haden, eight grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Visitation for Venita will be 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 8, at Greenlawn Funeral Home East with service following at 2:00 p.m. Private interment will be held at Missouri Veterans Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Venita to the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home.