Alverna Elizabeth (Rohman) DeBolt

Alverna Elizabeth DeBolt, 96, of Metamora, IL, departed this life at 8:02 am on Monday, May 2, 2022, at Snyder Village, Metamora, IL.

She was born on August 24, 1925, in Metamora, IL, to Arthur V. and Margaret E. Lynn-Meister Rohman. She married James E. DeBolt, on May 3, 1946. He preceded her in death on March 25, 2017.

Surviving are two sons; Robert (LuAnn) and Lee (Donna) of Metamora and one daughter, Kay DeBolt (Bob Van Dyke) of Bedford, Texas.

Also surviving are 5 grandchildren; Amy (Matt) Moehle, Joy (Chad) Whittington, Shawn (Earl Anderson) Johnson, Jennifer (Chris) Schertz, and Eric (Tracy) DeBolt and 13 great grandchildren; Alexa, Jack, and Dash Moehle, Lucas and Campbell Whittington, Zach, Ben, and Luke Johnson, Ewan and Emma Schertz, Avery, Harper and Willow DeBolt; also, many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, step-mother, Mary Rohman, one infant son, James Jr. and one infant daughter, Patricia. Alverna was the last surviving sibling. Preceding her in death were three sisters and brothers-in-law: Mary McCullough (Fred), Loretta Guy (Bruce) of Metamora, Amelda Alig (Kenneth) of Creve Coeur, and one brother and sister-in-law: Joseph Rohman (Kaethe) of Newbury Park, California. Also, one niece and one nephew.

She lived in Metamora most of her life (a handful were lived in the Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale, FL area). In the younger years, her father, Arthur Rohman owned the Rohman Chevrolet and Buick car dealership, Metamora; and Alverna worked as a waitress at the local restaurant. She was a 1943 Graduate of Metamora High School and her senior yearbook caption read “Sweetness, giggles and smiles”. Later on, she enjoyed assisting and coordinating many of their class reunions.

Alverna and Jim owned and operated DeBolt Supply (now Midwest Equipment) in Metamora from 1954 to 1971.

Alverna served as a Trustee for the Village of Metamora for 20-years, retiring in May 2005. (Village Board service ran in the family, as her father served as a Treasurer on the board; in the 1930’s he donated the Rohman Service Station clock that hung on the Council Hall wall for many decades; in 2011, Metamora Mayor Bill Belshaw presented the clock to Alverna).

During her tenure on the village board, she held most of the Department Head positions (Police, Fire Department, Streets, and Water) and enjoyed working with everyone to make Metamora a better community.

In 2000, Metamora Mayor Gene Hart, nominated Alverna and she was then chosen and honored with the Illinois Woman of Achievement Award given by the Illinois Office of The Lieutenant Governor. Some of her other favorite village board opportunities were attending ground breaking ceremonies, new business openings and enjoyed representing the Village and serving as an Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms at the Illinois Municipal League Conferences held in Chicago.

Besides owning DeBolt Supply, Alverna enjoyed gardening, riding her bicycle around Metamora and volunteering was a big part of her life: making Holiday Cheer Plates for the Auxiliary, Co-Chairperson of the Funeral Dinner program, helping in the office at St. Mary’s Church; filling in when needed at Glueck Supply, a clerk at many of the Snyder Village Auctions and assisting at the Relay-for-Life. Besides volunteering she worked as a clerk for Brotz Auction and was a cashier at Schierer’s Dairy Foods.

Alverna was a faithful member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Alter and Rosary Society and the American Legion Auxiliary Post #89. And in 2010, she attended Cursillo #945, a spiritual renewal weekend, with her daughter, Kay and son, Robert as clergy.

Family was important to Alverna, and she cherished the time spent around the dinner table with her children and grandchildren. You can ask any grandchild what their favorite meal was and they would say “chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes”!

The family would like to thank everyone at Snyder Village of Metamora for their wonderful care of our mom; you did make a difference.

A funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, May 6 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 415 W. Chatham St., Metamora with Father Vien Van Do officiating. Visitation will be from 9:00 am to 11:00 am before Mass. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Metamora.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to St. Mary’s School, 415 West Chatham Street, Metamora, IL 61548 or to the Snyder Village Residents in Need Fund, 1200 East Partridge Street, Metamora, IL 61548. Mason Funeral Home, Metamora Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences at www.masonfuneralhomes.com.

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