Boots, Laverne 'Jake' E.

Laverne “Jake” E. Boots, 90, passed away, with his family and caregivers by his side, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. He had been a resident of St. Luke's Living Center West for the past five years. Services: 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cedar Rapids, where family will greet friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday. Burial: Brandon Cemetery, Brandon.

Survivors include his son, John (Kathy) Boots of Brandon; daughter, Carole Boots of Virginia Beach, Va.; 13 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Margaret (Fernandez) Boots; daughter, Angela, who passed away at three weeks old; two sons, Michael Gregory Boots and Andrew Allen Boots in more recent years; brother, Duwayne Boots; and sister, Evelyn Mahan.

Jake was born Nov. 6, 1920, in Minnesota, the son of Harvey and Myrtle (Shirley) Boots. The family then moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to make their home. Jake served his country as a Merchant Marine in World War II. He worked on the Milwaukee Railroad for 28 years, retiring in 1980. Jake farmed all of his adult life. He loved the farm life, raising livestock and caring for the land.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established.

Please sign the online guest book for Jake at  under obituaries.

Published Oct. 30, 2011, in The Gazette