November 15, 1935 – September 19, 2023
Louisa Lorraine Harmon Leavitt–beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother– passed away on September 19 at her daughter’s home in Pueblo, Colorado.
Lorraine was born on November 15, 1935, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Samuel Theodore Harmon and Veva Lovina Daw. Lorraine spent much of her youth in Pocatello, Idaho, where she learned to love fast horses and small-town life. In high school, she moved to Lyman, Wyoming, and lived with her sister, Marilyn Harmon, who was doing her student teaching. During high school, Lorraine was a cheerleader and rodeo queen.
After graduation, she followed her sister to Overton, Nevada. She met Gail H. Leavitt while she was working as a waitress and he was working at a gas station in Glendale, Nevada. They married on October 27, 1956, and were sealed in the Manti Temple in 1965.
Gail and Lorraine moved to Monticello, Utah, where Gail worked driving trucks and moving uranium ore from the mine to the refinery. This work took them to Moab where they remained for 43 years and raised their four children: Anette, Valerie, Bart, and Greg.
In Moab, Gail and Lorraine made many close and lifelong friends. They owned a service station on Highway 191 for 25 years. In addition to raising their children, Lorraine had several jobs during their stay in Grand County.
Lorraine loved sports – especially softball, tennis and ping pong. Her opponents who were usually younger and faster were typically frustrated to discover that they still could not beat her. She was active in her church and community and she was routinely asked to direct musical and dance festival events and celebrations.
She loved exploring and sharing the Moab area’s scenic beauty with her family. Children, grandchildren and extended family who came to visit were treated to picnics, four-wheeling and long drives in the nearby desert and mountains.
After retirement, Gail and Lorraine spent 13 years in Logandale, Nevada. Together they served as temple workers in the Las Vegas LDS Temple for 10 years. Finally, they moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, to be closer to family. At the time of her death, Lorraine was living in Pueblo, Colorado, with her daughter, Valerie.
Lorraine is survived by her four children and their spouses, Flint and Anette Stephens (Highland, Utah), Bruce and Valerie Raymond (Pueblo, Colorado), Bart and Sharon Leavitt (Moab) and Greg and Candi Leavitt (Grand Junction). Lorraine was a loving grandmother to 13 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Gail; parents, Samuel Theodore Harmon and Veva Lovina Daw; a brother, Edgar Allen Harmon; sisters, Veva Marilyn Smith and Clara Charlene Bushman; and a grandson, Jacob Flint Stephens.
Although we grieve her loss deeply we have loving memories of picnics, family gatherings and ping pong tournaments. She taught us how to iron a shirt and make world-famous pancakes. She set an example of how to treat others with kindness and love. Family reunions filled her with happiness and excitement. We are certain that Heaven hosted the largest family reunion ever and now has a traveling ping pong trophy.
A viewing for Lorraine will be held on Saturday, October 7 at 10 a.m. at the Moab LDS Stake Center (701 Locust Lane), immediately followed by an 11 a.m. funeral at the same location with live streaming on the Spanish Valley Mortuary Facebook page. Burial will follow the service at Sunset Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Spanish Valley.
You may send condolences to the family at www.SpanishValleyMortuary.com.
