Laverne J. Harbert

Laverne J. Harbert, beloved mother, grandma or G-ma, and great-grandma, passed away peacefully at home with her daughter by her side.  On April 27, 2020 I'm sure Dad welcomed her home.  Laverne was born on June 17, 1925.  She was preceded in death by her parents Irma and Rocky Capps and George Wittich.  She was also preceded in death by her high-school sweetheart and loving husband of 64 1/2 years, Tom Harbert in November 2009.  She is survived by her 3 children: Jim, Bob (Vicky) and Sue Harbert.  She also leaves behind 4 grandchildren: Kari (Rob), Steve (Christy), Brad, and Missy (Mike); and 7 great-grandkids: Skyler (Shelbie), Kyle, Kirsten, Dustin, Ryan (Monique), Allyson and Jaxon.
The family moved to Los Alamos in 1959 where the kids grew up.  Mom was an avid bowler in Los Alamos and Albuquerque.  She and Dad also loved to square dance and round dance in St. Louis and Los Alamos.  Mom grew up dancing a lot of Jitterbug but unfortunately married Dad who couldn't dance the Jitterbug very well.  Mom always told a story about a soldier friend "Charlie Dunn" that she would dance with on the Admiral when he was on leave.  After Mom and Dad were married, Charlie came to town and the three of them went to a cocktail lounge and Dad fed the juke box so Mom and Charlie could dance.  What a special love they had for each other.  After Dad retired in 1986, they moved to Albuquerque.

Our Special Memories:
Mom loved roller coasters and one year Mom, my best friend Linda and I (Sue) went to Branson, MO.  We went to an amusement park and at the age of 86, Mom rode 2 of the wildest roller coasters back to back.  She had a blast.  I only rode one of them.
Mom hated taking her pills everyday.  She always had something to say like, "All of these?" or "Tomorrow.  I'll take them tomorrow."  It would take any of us at least an hour to get her to take them.  Bob came and visited one time and was left in charge while Sue went to work.  He would beg her to take her pills and she would say, "Why, is Sue coming home soon?"  All 3 of us kids had a tough time getting her to take her pills.  It took her 3 year old great-grandson Jaxon to get her to take them in just minutes.  The golden words he said to her were, "Open Grandma."
Mom loved being around people and when Jim had his craft store and custom framing shop, Mom loved working there.  She learned all about the craft supplies and the framing.  She even learned and was quite good at picking the right mats and frames.  Jim always appreciated all she did there.
Mom was very proud of her hair and she did not want anyone to see her with her hair wet.  This went on for many years until she was surprised by her granddaughter Kari and great-granddaughter Kirsten when they showed up at the beauty shop.  They were the only ones besides Sue to see her hair wet.  Mom was also a very nice dresser and had a necklace to match all of her outfits.  She would get complimented on her hair and outfits often.
Mom was known for liking to play slot machines.  That was her outing for the week on Wednesdays.  There would be times she would be dizzy and no balance for a couple of days but if it was a Wednesday, she felt much better and would want to go.  People would ask her how she did and she would always say, "I just donate."
One time at Christmas, the family went out to eat at an Italian restaurant and Mom is not too fond of Italian food.  Mom does like ravioli so she ordered it.  When it came, she said this isn't like what I am used to eating.  This is round and I eat the square kind out of the can.  She refused to eat it.  As a joke, Bob went to the store and bought her 2 cans of the Chef Boyardee ravioli and wrapped them up and gave them to her for Christmas as a gag gift.  She ate them for Christmas.
Mom was known for worrying about the family before herself.  One time she was worried about paying her estimated taxes yet gave hundreds to family members that needed help.  She gave to the family to help them and took on the IRS burden later.

Favorite Sayings or things she did:
When we would tease Mom she would say, "You're going to miss me when I'm gone" and we would say, "Are you going somewhere?"

Mom would drive me crazy with her money in her wallet.  She had a normal size wallet yet she would fold her bills and put them in a small coin purse and put that in her wallet.
When we would make fun of her for something silly, she would put her little finger on her nose and wiggle her fingers and say, "This don't mean nothin'." Then she would put her thumb on her nose and wiggle her fingers and say, "But thith do."
When things would go bad, it was, "That little black cloud."
We would play Mexican train and hands and feet and when she won she would say, "I know how to play this game."
When it comes to 3 year old Jaxon and his cute witty quirks and remarks as if he was an adult getting back at us, Mom would say, "You will never get ahead of him, he has you all figured out" and she was right.
Her favorite saying from Kari when she was very young was, "Duck ahead Dummy!" when Rocky hit his head on the car getting in.
Mom loved the song "Jingle Bell Rock" and taught us the round dance to it.
"Chocolate, Chocolate." Mom loved chocolate sodas and when she was a teenager she and her cousin Pat would go to Velvet Freeze and order chocolate sodas with chocolate ice cream and lots of chocolate syrup.
She would also say "I could write a book."
We know there are so many more memories that we can't list them all.  Mom was a hoot at family gatherings and if there was music playing, you can bet her hips were moving.  She will always be remembered for her sense of humor, dancing and just being so darn cute.  The family will miss her banana bread and German potato salad.  Mom was our rock and will be greatly missed by many.

Please share any special memories you have of her with us.  Memorial contributions can be made in her name to St. Jude Hospital.
A Celebration of Life will be done at a later date due to Covid-19.

To view information or leave a condolence please visit www.danielsfuneral.com  
Daniels Family Funeral Services
7601 Wyoming Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109
505-821-0010