LaVonne Rogers Markham

LaVonne Rogers Markham, born August 4, 1944, passed away on January 4, 2020. She is survived by her husband Darryl, her children Derek (Wind), Seth (Heather), Camden, Jesse (Lauren), and Lucas (Lauren), as well as her 15 beloved grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings Marlene (Russell), Randy, Ranae (Price) and Kent. LaVonne was preceded in death by her parents Melvin and Mildred Rogers, her brother, Brian Noble Rogers and one grandchild, Topaz Nejaya Markham. A native of Mesa, Arizona, she lived abroad for several years before finally settling down in Northern Virginia, where she spent her remaining 33 years. Regardless of where she lived, her life was shaped by her love of four things: music, reading, her family, and her faith.. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Music Education, and spent most of her early and college years performing as a pianist, organist, singer, choir director, and string bass player. After graduation, LaVonne honored her civic and church communities wherever she lived by teaching and performing. Whether she sang in a choir, backed vocal performers as a pianist, taught in public schools and private homes, or accompanied her local congregation as an organist, she made clear to all how much she valued the uplifting and edifying powers of music. Her children and former students now carry this legacy in their own ways. Later in life, LaVonne supplemented her voracious appetite for reading by going straight to the source - her local libraries. She was employed for more than 10 years as a librarian at the Eastern Loudoun Regional Library - Cascades, and later Thomas Balch Family History Library. Her nightstand was forever filled with a rotating stack of books that never seemed to contain the same title longer than a week. Once transitioning to Leesburg’s Thomas Balch Library, she was able to finally put to use her vast personal experience with genealogy to help patrons discover local roots and history they were previously unaware of. She came from a pioneer heritage that settled Arizona in its early years, and took unending pleasure in recounting family stories, anecdotes, and relationships. Upon meeting anyone from Arizona, “What were your grandparents’ names?” was always among her first questions, and more often than not she could trace a new connection by reciting family lines and hometowns from memory. LaVonne cherished her relationships with uncles and aunts, cousins (even many steps removed), and especially her siblings, four of whom remain to remember their sister with tenderness and warmth. Above all else, she loved her children and constantly kept her grandchildren in her thoughts and heart, no matter the distance they lived from her. LaVonne will be buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Hamilton, Virginia, not far from her home where her family will continue to gather and recall with fondness the ways she made their lives better.

LaVonne Rogers Markham

August 4, 1944 - January 4, 2020