LaVelle Gardner, 80, a longtime Oakesdale resident, passed away on Saturday, December 5 at the Whitman Hospital in Colfax. A graveside service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 12 at the Oakesdale Cemetery with Rev. Jeannette Solimine officiating. A potluck reception will follow at the Oakesdale Fire Hall.

She was born on January 21, 1935 in Colfax as Mary LaVelle Billingsley, and was the youngest of six children born to George and Mary Gladys (McGinnis) Billingsley. She spent the first five years of her childhood in Colfax before her family moved to Steptoe where she attended first through fourth grades. After her beloved big brother, Ben, was killed in World War II, the family moved to Oakesdale where she has resided for the last 70 years. She attended Oakesdale high school and graduated with the class of 1953. After attending the University of Idaho for one year, LaVelle married Jerry Riley "Mike" McGee and had a daughter and a son. After her first marriage ended, she married Gordon Gardner, Sr. in 1970. They remained together until his death in 1999.

LaVelle worked as a waitress, as a cashier at Crossett's Grocery Store and at Blackburn's Insurance. She was president of the Oakesdale Betterment League and belonged to the Lady Elks and Eagles Lodges. She loved American history, especially the history of local pioneers. This led her to co-founder the Oakesdale Historical Society and the McCoy Valley Museum. They were created just in time for Oakesdale's Centennial celebration in 1988. She was an avid reader and enjoyed crafting, painting, flower gardening and spoiling her dogs. Some of her flowers adorned the wreaths and mini-Christmas trees that she sold at area craft shows with her daughter.

She is survived by her daughter Lori McGee of Spokane; son Larry McGee of Pullman; step-children Gordon Gardner, Jr., Carol (Dennis) Pittman, Larry Gardner and John Gardner, all of Oakesdale. She is also survived by six step-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her brothers Jack, Donald and Benjamin and sisters Dorothy Lowe and Joyce Salmon.

Memorial contributions in LaVelle's honor are suggested to the Oakesdale Museum or to the American Lung Association. Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax has been entrusted with funeral arrangements.