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.
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, 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 Sept. 15, 1967, in Lincoln.
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 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 1998 when they sold the ranch and moved to Casper, Wyo. With Eldon’s failing health they moved to Maranatha Village in Springfield on Feb. 1, 2007. Eldon passed away Jan. 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, Glenn Lebsack, of Iowa; stepson, Ron (Nila) Blauvelt, of Carthage, Mo.; two stepdaughters, Marilyn (Dale) Ackerman, of Grand Island, and Jan (the Rev. Gary) Sherman, of Buffalo, Wyo.; eight grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at 10 a.m., on Monday, July 30, at Maranatha Chapel in Springfield, Mo., with visitation beginning at 9 a.m. Arrangements are under the direction of Greenlawn Funeral Home North. Online condolences can be made at greenlawnfuneralhome.com.
A second memorial service will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 1, in Thedford. The memorial will be at the Bethel Assembly of God Church in Thedford. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Her interment will be at the Thedford Cemetery alongside her husband and the love of her life.
Mullen Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.