Ladonna (Bunting) Havekost, 91, of Lake, passed away peacefully on Friday, February 24 at the Isabella County Medical Care Facility in Mt. Pleasant. A funeral mass for Ladonna will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 28 at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Beal City with Father Ricky Varner as celebrant. The family will receive visitors in the gathering room of the church on Monday, February 27 from 3-7 p.m. with the Rosary Vigil beginning at 6:30 p.m. Visitation continues on Tuesday one hour prior to the mass. Memorial contributions may be made to the Isabella County Commission on Aging, St. Joseph the Worker Parish, or to the charity of the donor's choice. Ladonna was born on May 5, 1925 on the family farm in Nottawa Township. She was the second of twelve children born to Herb and Florence (Emmons) Straus. She was a very intelligent and industrious person and even though her formal education ended after the eighth grade when she left school to help care for her younger siblings, she continually applied herself to various occupations throughout her life. In addition to being a loving wife and mother, she was a licensed cosmetologist and worked out of her home for many years doing cuts and perms, while also being the “Avon lady” to her many loyal customers. In later years she worked in a pharmacy, became a certified income tax preparer, and also worked at and retired from the CMU Bookstore. Some of her favorite pastimes included cooking, reading and quilting with the ladies of the Weidman Country Quilters.
Ladonna married John J. Bunting on April 7, 1945. They were married for 30 years and together they had four children; Tom, Judie, Chuck and Tim. After John's death, Ladonna married Walter G. Fahey on April 29, 1977. After his death, Ladonna married Calvin L. Havekost on February 26, 2005. They spent the next twelve years together enjoying their life at Littlefield Lake and wintering in California. Calvin survives her. She is also survived by her children; Tom (Carole) Bunting of Portsmouth NH, Judie (John) Murawski of Brandon SD, Chuck (Pam) Bunting of Mt. Pleasant MI and Tim (Leslie) Bunting of Minden NV. Grandchildren: Lindsay (Pete) Beardsley of Portsmouth NH, Jessie (Lissa) Murawski of Sioux Falls SD, Nick (Amy) Murawski of Minneapolis MN, Ben (Nisha) Bunting of Edinburgh, Scotland, Amy (Jason) Hoss of Grand Rapids MI, John (Amy) Bunting of Mt. Pleasant
MI, Sara (Chris) Ambrose of Spokane WA, and James (Morgan) Bunting of Las Vegas NV. She is also survived by 15 beautiful great-grandchildren: Elia, Eben, Owen, Olive, Harris, Rocco, Violet, Jackson, Cooper, Myles, Reece, Galen, Ainsley, Tucker, and Sybil. Also, Calvin's children: Suzanne (Ralph) Chadwick of Oxnard CA, Jeff (Marilyn) Havekost of Denver CO, Mark (Penny) Havekost of Monroe MI, and Anita Havekost of Oxnard CA.
Ladonna is also survived by 4 siblings: Larry Straus of Drummond Island MI, Margaret Simmer of Beal City MI, Pete (Irene) Straus of Springfield MO, and Nancy (Ray) Chaplin of Pine ID; sisters-in-law: Vera Straus of Beal City, Betty Straus of Flushing, Ester Straus of DeWitt, and Peggy Straus of Beal City, Elaine Bunting of Mt. Pleasant and brother-in-law, Larry Mead of Beal City, and many, many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, husbands John Bunting and Walter Fahey, six brothers; Gerald, Max, Paul, Art, Carl, and Fred Straus, and one sister, Carolyn Mead, Also, sisters-in-Law Kathryn, Susie, and Ernestine Straus and brother-in-Law Gerald Simmer. The family wishes to extend their special thanks to the staffs of the Isabella County Commission on Aging and the Isabella County Medical Care Facility for the excellent care given to Ladonna.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ladonna Havekost (Bunting), please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.