Laverne’s life is a simple story of faith, love, and hard work. She was born to Thomas Guy and Radie Herring just north of Abilene, TX. Her family moved to a farm about thirty miles east of Lubbock when she was still young. She grew up the second child and oldest girl of eight children. Her granny, Lydia McCaughan Herring, lived with them and was very influential in her formative years.
Laverne’s life was deeply etched by the Depression Era survival challenges on a small cotton farm on the plains. She worked hard at farm chores and began her life-long passion for learning and teaching from age five. She excelled at school after often having to spend a month out of school during harvest. She made a profession of faith expressing her belief in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior at the age of 15. After also graduating at 15, she spent four years at home driving a tractor and working on the farm to help out her family. She spent time memorizing Bible verses and praying for the opportunity to become a teacher. At 19, she was given the offer to teach at a country school if she could pass the state accreditation test and get her degree in the following summers. After teaching for two years, she was able to get a job at the Baptist Church in Canyon that would pay her tuition, room, and board at West Texas State where she earned her degree. During those years she met and fell in love with Dale Pingel.
Laverne and Dale were married in 1951 and lived in Vega, TX, for a couple of years where their daughter, Anita, was born. Their family of three moved to Dallas where they worked at Buckner Baptist Children’s Home for seventeen years. Dale ran the dairy, then poultry farm, and later the grounds maintenance while Laverne taught school. She took a few years off with the births of their children Martha, Laura, and John. Laverne taught second grade for six years in Mesquite before the family moved to Arlington. She taught for many years at South Davis Elementary School before retiring.
After retirement, she and Dale spent almost twenty years taking trips all over the United States and Canada in their RV. They loved visiting relatives and many national parks. Their four children and seven grandchildren brought them much joy. Dale and Laverne were faithful members of Fielder Road Baptist Church for forty years. Laverne loved the precious ladies of her Sunday school class.
After Dale’s death in 2012, Laverne moved to Whitehouse, TX, to live with her daughter Laura Wilson’s family. Laverne has been an incredible example of Jesus’ gentle and humble love. She always thanked her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving her the courage and strength to endure any of the challenges that life brought her.
Laverne is survived by her children Anita Jeanette Ortega, Martha Gail Pingel, Laura Dale Wilson and husband James, John Charles Pingel and wife Regina, and grandchildren Hillary, Valerie, Nathan, Kiersten, Abigail, Alyssa, and Jonathan.
*All obituaries are submitted by family and friends of the deceased.
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