M. Lavelle Givens

M. LaVelle Givens, age 80, of La Grande and formerly of Baker City, died October 25, 2007 in La Grande. At her request there will be no public services. Those who wish may sign the on-line guest book at www.danielsknopp.com.

Mrs. Givens was born on May 19, 1927, to Elmer and Ethel (Boyer) Graven in Baker. Her Great Grandparents, Thomas and Marietta (Dunn) Boyer, homesteaded in the Grande Ronde Valley in 1864. Her Grandfather Richard Boyer was born near LaGrande in 1873.

LaVelle was raised and educated in Hereford, OR where she graduated from high school. She married Jimmie Warren on December 17, 1945 in San Francisco, CA. Mr. Warren died of injuries on April 11, 1946 at the Treasure Island Naval Hospital in San Francisco.

LaVelle married John Atkinson on August 16, 1946. They had three children, two sons and a daughter. LaVelle and John lived in Hereford, Austin Junction, Fossil, Baker, and La Grande during John's career with the State Department of Transportation. LaVelle worked at JC Penneyâ