Loretta Irene Lebsack Blauvelt was born July 16, 1928 to Fred and Rosella Lebsack and went to be with her Lord the afternoon of July 27, 2012.
Loretta grew up on the family farm near Loveland County. After graduating from high school, she went to Southwestern Bible College in Waxahachie, Texas. After graduation she teamed up with her long-time friend Bonnie Roll and the two of them became the Nebraska District Sunday School Directors and Kid’s Kamp Leaders. It was during these years that she developed a relationship with the Blauvelt family of Thedford, Nebraska.
She later became the child Evangelism Coordinator for the General Council of the Assemblies of God in Springfield, MO.
In January 1966 Eldon Blauvelt, a Cattle Rancher from the Sandhills of Nebraska, lost his wife of 28 years. That fall he made a trip to Springfield to visit friends. It was during that trip that he met Loretta at the Assemblies of God Headquarters and the two of them went out to supper. The next trip he made to Springfield he brought down red roses and the love affair had its beginning. They were married September 15, 1967 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Loretta immediately became a ranch wife, a title she dearly loved. She would participate in showing cattle with the family at shows from Louisville, Kentucky to Denver, Colorado with a number in-between.
In the fall of 1980 the family moved the cattle operation to Missouri and she and Eldon built a new home on the ranch near Miller, MO. They continued to live there until November of 1998 when they sold the ranch and moved to Casper, WY. With Eldon’s failing health they moved to Maranatha Village in Springfield on February 1, 2007. Eldon passed away January 30, 2008. Loretta continued to live there until her passing, making numerous friends among the village personnel, along with enjoying the friendship of long time friends who also lived there.
Loretta was a licensed minister of the Assemblies of God, a wonderful Sunday School Teacher, a great wife and stepmother and a beloved step grandmother and great grandmother.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Rosella Lebsack, a brother, Wayne Lebsack, her husband, Eldon Blauvelt and many dear friends to numerous to mention.
She is survived by a brother, Glen Lebsack of Iowa; stepson, Ron Blauvelt and wife Nila of Carthage, MO; two stepdaughters, Marilyn Ackerman and husband, Dale of Grand Island, Nebraska and Jan Sherman and husband Rev. Gary Sherman of Buffalo, WY; eight grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held, at 10:00 a.m., Monday, July 30, 2012 in Maranatha Chapel in Springfield, MO with visitation beginning at 9:00 a.m. Arrangements are under the direction of Greenlawn Funeral Home North. Online condolences can be made at www.greenlawnfuneralhome.com.
A second memorial service will be held Wednesday, August 1, 2012 in Thedford, Nebraska. Her interment will be at the Thedford Cemetery alongside her husband and the love of her life.