LAVONNE GODWIN PLATT
1932 - 2017
Obituary
LaVonne was born Aug. 16, 1932, in
Marquette to Roberta Mann Godwin and C. E. Godwin. She died Feb. 8,
2017, with her husband, Dwight, by her side in their rural Newton
home.
LaVonne grew up in Windom, Assaria,
Greenleaf, Bern and Long Island, where her parents were
schoolteachers. She graduated in 1950 from Long Island High School
and attended Kansas University (KU), where she graduated with a
degree in Home Economics Education in 1954.In addition to her formal
education, LaVonne spent her lifetime learning. When a concern arose
and she sensed something was needed that she might accomplish, she
set out to learn the skills to do so.
LaVonne joined the Methodist Church in
Bern, and while at KU was active in the Methodist Student Movement.
She met Dwight Platt in a small discussion group at the Wesley
Foundation, at KU, in 1953. In 1956, she joined Dwight who was by
then working for an American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) village
development project in Barpali Thana, Orissa, India. They were
married in Barpali on June 21, 1956. Relationships with the people in
this area of deep rural poverty, but cultural richness, had a
profound influence on her life.
In 1957, they returned to the United
States so Dwight could teach at Bethel College. LaVonne joined the
Bethel College Mennonite Church and the American Association of
University Women (AAUW) in 1958 and continued membership in both for
the rest of her life. She participated in many groups as a result of
her concerns for peace, social justice and interracial solidarity.
Dwight and LaVonne's daughter Kamala
was born Feb. 6, 1959, and their son Richard was born Aug. 18, 1962.
In 1970, the Platt family returned to India where Dwight taught at
Sambalpur University and LaVonne conducted research on the effects of
the Barpali development project.
LaVonne was a teacher. She taught Home
Economics in high school and college; she taught women in a village
education program in Orissa; she conducted workshops and seminars on
world hunger issues; and she taught junior high Sunday School.
LaVonne was a researcher. She conducted
a followup study on the lasting effects of the Barpali development
project in Orissa; she tested recipes for the "More with Less
Cookbook;" and she collected nutrition data for a study on
aging.
LaVonne was also a writer and editor.
Freelancing, she wrote articles on many topics, including Christian
education, human rights issues and lifestyle choices, that were
published in many journals and books; and she edited a newsletterand
book on farm issues.
In 1982, she received a grant from the
American Association of University Women to research and write a book
about Bela Banerjee, a nurse co-worker at the Barpali Project, who
trained village health workers throughout India. LaVonne taught
herself to use a computer to prepare books for publication,
established Wordsworth Publishing Co. and published "Bela
Banerjee, Bringing Health to India's Villages" (1987) and then
published 19 books by other authors with quality manuscripts. She
sold books from a selected collection at the Wordsworth Bookroom in
the Meadowlark Center and at many events.
LaVonne wrote children's stories,
researched genealogies, sewed, crocheted, played piano and autoharp,
sang, grew houseplants, put up many winters worth of garden produce,
and welcomed refugees to Newton's community. Her concerns and
interests brought with them ties to many communities. The weft-thread
that transverses her life was her desire to seek understanding among
people(s).
LaVonne is survived by her husband,
Dwight Platt; children, Kamala Platt and Richard Platt(Juliet Brown);
brother, Duane Godwin (Nony) and numerous extended family members.
She was preceded in death by her parents, C. E. Godwin and Roberta
Mann Godwin; and brother, Galen Godwin.
A Life Celebration will be held at 11
a.m. Thursday, March 16, 2017, at the Bethel College Mennonite
Church. Memorial contributions may be made to the AAUW to fund
Community Action and International Project grants for projects that
promote education and equity for women and girls or to the Mennonite
Central Committee to fund work with displaced Iraqis, Syrians and
Palestinians in the Middle East and with immigrants crossing the
southern border of the United States. Donations may be given at the
time of the service or sent to Petersen Funeral Home.
