Laverne Underwood

When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure. 

Lavern Underwood transitioned peacefully on January 18, 2023, surrounded by her family at the age of 80. 

Lavern was born in Weston, Georgia, to the late Arthur West, Sr. and the late Arcoyler West. She was the oldest of four children, and is survived by her sister and brother, Florence West of Newark, and Arthur West Jr. of Morrisville (the late Arlene West), preceded in death by her youngest sister Diane West. 

Lavern moved to Newark New Jersey in 1947 where she attended the Newark public schools. She later met the love of her life SJ Underwood and married on July 8, 1960. This union produced three children, Dolwyn Underwood (Tanya Underwood) of Hamilton, Felecia Underwood of Hamilton, Eric Underwood (Melvin Alvarado) of Las Vegas, NV. Lavern has two step children Dorothy Dunhany of Dallas, TX and Jimmy Miller (Jacqueline Miller) of Spartanburg, sc. SJ and Lavern celebrated 62 years of marriage before her passing. This entire union produced a host of loving grand children, great grand children, great great grandchildren. She will be missed by many cousins, nieces and nephews as well. She cherished all her grand children and would swear there was something special about each and everyone of them. 

Lavern spent most of her adult life in Hamilton Township New Jersey and held several jobs in the Central New Jersey area, most notably her employment at CCA of Cranbury, NJ where she spent over ten years before retiring in 1983. She accepted Christ in 1982 and attended several churches in around the Trenton area over the next decades. She loved gospel music and would often wonder how a person could love music as she did and not be able to sing. She had an unwavering passion for Christ and would spend most of her life sharing the word with her family and friends. If you walked into her house, you would soon learn the lord lived there as well. 

She loved her plants, flowers, cooking and always kept an eye on football. She also loved flea markets and yard sales and would often get up at the crack of dawn to be the first person at Englishtown or Columbus market. You could find her at any local yard sale in the neighborhood on any given Saturday. As her health begari to decline, she focused more and more on television and the list of her favorite shows are far too many to mention. She spent hours on the phone discussing her shows with her family every day. 

REST IN PEACE WITH YOUR LORD 

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take 
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and 
you will find rest for your souls. for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

Matthew 11: 28-30 

Funeral service will be 1pm Thursday, January 26, 2023 at Hughes Funeral Home, 324 Bellevue Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618. Calling hour will be 12pm until the time of service. Interment will be at Colonial Memorial Park, Hamilton, NJ.

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