Verna R. Levear

Verna R. LeVear passed away on July 19, 2018 in Des Moines. She was born November 5, 1926, in Iowa Falls, Iowa, to Gustav and Esther (Handt) Schnormeier and lived and attended school in Hubbard. Iowa. On December 4, 1948 she married Reginald Sears. They lived in Des Moines and Hubbard where she worked as a bookkeeper for several companies. On December 12, 1965 she married Joseph LeVear. Verna moved her family to Des Moines in 1969 and was a key punch operator for several years until she and her brother, Harold, opened Pagliai's Pizza restaurant on Merle Hay Road. This was later known as Pizza Station. Verna worked there until her early 70s. When H&R Block needed a daytime receptionist, she went back to work for a few years during tax time. She was a hard worker and enjoyed being around people. She enjoyed taking trips to Colorado and Yellowstone with her children when they were younger. She and her son, Bill, made it to several Minnesota Twins baseball games. Later in life, she was an avid NBA basketball fan. She loved to "spar" with her nephew on who the best player was! Crocheting became her favorite activity in later years. Several infants and young children received her beautiful crocheted baptismal shawls. She also made many baby afghans for friends and graduation afghans for high school graduates. Her July 4th highlight was not necessarily the parade, but hosting a pot luck for family and friends ("who had nothing better to do") for the day. She lost count of just how many years she had done this. The last few years, with her cousin's help, she hosted a semi-annual, mini class reunion in Hubbard, until they closed the only restaurant in town. All the classmates really enjoyed that time together. She looked forward to family reunions where she could visit with distant relatives. Her highlight of the week was going to church and seeing all of her friends. In 2017, Verna moved into her assisted living apartment at Calvin Community where she made many new treasured friends. Survivors include her daughters, Sandra (Ronald) Nussbaum, Janalyn (Thomas) Cummiskey, and son, William Sears; grandchildren David (Jacque) Nussbaum, Karilyn Nussbaum, Douglas Nussbaum, William Cummiskey, and Jennifer Cummiskey; great grandchildren, Daniel Nussbaum, Sean Nussbaum and Ryan Nussbaum; three sisters-in-law, several nieces and nephews, as well as many cousins, relatives and close friends. Verna was preceded in death by her parents, and her brother, Harold Schnormeier and also by two of her beloved pets, Coco and Nikki. Visitation will be held Wednesday, July 25, from 7 - 8:30 pm and a celebration of life service will be held Thursday July 26th, at 11 am. Both will be held at Urbandale United Church of Christ, 3530 70th Street, Urbandale, Iowa. A luncheon will be held immediately following the service.