Obituary of Lavada Hemsted

Lavada “Lou” Louise Hemsted, 85, of Coralville, Iowa, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center. A time of visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service, Iowa City. A Graveside Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 26, 2024, at Memory Gardens Cemetery, Iowa City.   

She is survived by her son, Kyle (Noelle) Hemsted; grandchildren, Alexis Hemsted, Robyn Hemsted, Lauren (Brandyn) Strouse, Acadia (Randell Cooper) Hemsted, step-grandchildren, Joe (Lori) Short, Justin Short, Sheyenne Tavis, and Jayson (Marcela) Fox; great-grandchildren, Avery, Ellis, Tia, and Emberly, who will arrive in a few months; step great-grandchildren, Jack, Gracelynn, and Justus; and siblings, Aggie Rochwick, Sylvia Courtney, and Sheila “Kay” May.

Lou was born on February 25, 1939, in Blytheville Arkansas, the daughter of Edgar and Agnes (Stark) Sweet.  Lou spent most of her youth in the cotton and crop fields from Arkansas to California. Moving around often and helping support her large Family. She worked hard, but always seemed to have a sense of humor that would often get her into trouble. She rarely attended school, as it was secondary to helping the Family. Though she would eventually gain her GED through Kirkwood Community College in the mid 1970s, as it was a goal she had set for herself.

She eventually found her way to the Iowa City area to live with an older sibling and work at the University of Iowa from 1959 to 1971, until she became a full time farm wife and babysitter. Her babysitting career spanned from 1971 to 2014 and encompassed over 700 children, to whom she was “Momma Lou” or “Grandma Lou”. She loved all of those children and their families and provided a safe, loving environment. She remained in contact with many of the kids and families until her passing.

She met her future Husband and life time love, Kenneth Hemsted, sometime in 1959…though I have been told she played hard to get and first thought he was a little arrogant. The couple would marry in October of 1960 and have 4 children together. Keith Douglas (1961-1972), Kip Dwight (1962-1962), Lynda Lorraine (1963-2024) and Kyle Duane(1971-present).

She and Kenny would suffer the tragic loss of Keith and Kip together. With the passing of her Husband, Kenny, in 2002 she alone would suffer the tragic loss of her Grandsons, Harley (2016), JD (2017) and her Daughter Lynda (2024).

Throughout her marriage she was a constant presence on the Family Farm. Working alongside her Husband with the hogs and crops, as well as maintaining the home, babysitting and helping with whatever was required to make their world go around.

She departed the Family Farm in 2012 and moved to the Columbus Junction area with her son, Kyle where she continued to babysit and pursue her love of knitting, sewing, embroidery and quilting which she had loved and done her entire life.

She departed from the Columbus Junction area in 2014 to move to Missouri to be closer to her Family. Residing in the West Plains area until 2021, at which time she moved to Arkansas to live with her baby sister Shiela Kay May after she lost her Husband. She eventually found her way back to Iowa, moving in with her Daughter Lynda in early 2024.

In her later life, after moving to Missouri she enjoyed life by continuing to quilt, embroidery, knit and attending church. She also enjoyed going to rodeos and watching her youngest Granddaughter Acadia barrel race horses and was in constant contact with her first born Grand Daughter Alexis, who she always called Ladybug.

I know there are many holes in the story of my Mom’s amazing life. Stories that you will find in your own memories and continue to tell to others. Those stories, told by the hundreds upon hundreds of people that she touched in one way or another will keep her alive on this earth for centuries to come. Take no offense if you are not mentioned here by name, my mind is flooded with stories, tales and memories…and I know there is not enough time or paper on which to put them. Just please know that she loved her friends and her Family more than anything in this world and would help them in anyway that she could. I know I will forever miss and love her, as I am sure all of you will.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Kenny; children, Keith Hemsted, Kip Hemsted, and Lynda (Jerry) Short; grandsons, Harley Short and Jerry D. “J.D.” Short; and siblings, Ann, Eddie, Daryl, Irene “Pete”, Margaret, William, and Wilma.

Memorials may be directed to the family for expenses or to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The Hemsted family has been greatly affected by those who have taken their own lives: J.D., Harley, and Lynda. They will always be remembered.