Ann Lavada Sommers, 59, passed away on Thursday, September 12, 2024.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 14, 2024, at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, with visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m. A graveside service will follow at Lakewood Memorial Park in Jackson.

Ann was born June 13, 1965, in Jackson, MS, to Charles and Julia Ann Sommers. Other than brief times when she lived in Flowood, Ridgeland, and Brandon, Ann has lived in Clinton, Mississippi, since 1980. She graduated from Clinton High School in 1983 and Mississippi College in 1987 with her BS in Business Administration. As President of the Mississippi College chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon in 1986-87, Ann's leadership was instrumental in winning the national award for highest membership growth in the nation.

After graduating from MC, Ann worked as a Convention Services Coordinator for the Mississippi Convention & Visitors Bureau. She then worked for sixteen years as a third-party Retirement Services Consultant with the Mississippi Deferred Compensation Plan (ING Group) in Jackson until she retired in 2006. During her years in Clinton, Ann was a faithful member of Morrison Heights Baptist Church and the Agape Sunday School class.

Ann was an inspiration to all who knew her. She was an avid line dancer with Darlene's Dixie Dancers for nine years before the debilitating disease of Multiple Sclerosis took that joy from her. She loved traveling with her parents and did not let that diagnosis prevent her from fully living and enjoying that same passion during her adult life.

Ann loved to travel. She especially enjoyed taking cruises with her friends to exotic places such as the Grand Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Cozumel, and Belize. Ann purchased an pod camper several years ago and bravely hit the road. On one such Mississippi camping adventure, she rescued her beloved dog, Honey. She pulled her camper from Clinton along the East Coast to Vermont. Most recently, she ventured to Colorado, Arizona, and Lake Mead, Nevada. Ann had the gift of meeting folks and making them feel special. Strangers quickly became friends everywhere she went.

Ann was always up for a game of Sequence or Mexican Train. She and her friend, Ron Nederhoed, enjoyed visiting local nursing homes to engage and encourage the residents. Along with woodworking, Ann shared her father's love for collecting rocks and shells. Her talent and creativity ranged from working in her yard and flowerbeds to painting ceramics, many of which she gifted to friends. Ann discovered a hidden talent in acrylic painting and often invited friends to join her at her makeshift studio - the dining room table.

Ann had a love for music. She was a saxophonist in the marching bands at Clinton High School and Mississippi College. She enjoyed singing in the choir at Morrison Heights. Ann loved animals, especially rescues. Honey and her four kitties, Tango, Gypsy, Krystal, and Bella were her delights. Memorial gifts through The Endless Sommers Fund at the Mosby Foundation will fulfill Ann's dream of caring for rescue animals and animals with medical challenges.

Ann's father could creatively build anything, and he taught Ann to do the same. Ann made many memories working in his shop. They didn't always see eye-to-eye on how to solve a building problem, but they always worked it out. Ann fondly recalled helping her mother bake a Christmas cake when she was six years old. She proudly displayed that cake on the family's Christmas table.

Some of her favorite memories were family trips to Maine to visit her father's family. Ann remembers climbing and hiding in the old apple tree. Ann fondly remembered having her first coffee in California at the young age of six while visiting her Aunt Nancy. She hated the stuff then but grew to enjoy it.

Ann and her parents were league bowlers, racking up impressive scorecards. Ann was the State Champion in the Junior Bowling League and won second place in the Women's Division at her peak.

Ann lovingly cared for her parents during their final years. An especially fond memory of her father was made in the nursing home just before his passing. At his request, Ann repaired his TV remote during a visit. She handed it to him as she and her mother left for the night. He held that remote, smiling in appreciation as Ann hugged him and said, "I love you, Daddy." Later that night, her daddy died with that remote still in his hand.

Ann's most significant life lessons were: "Money is not as important as you think" and "Travel whenever, wherever, and while you can."

Ann was preceded in death by her father Charles Richard Sommers (2009) and mother Julia Ann Sommers (2010) of Clinton, MS; her maternal uncles Gerald, Ronald, and Raymond Combest; and her first cousins, Steven and David Combest.

She is survived by her first cousins James "Jim" (Regina) Brown of Minot, ME; Alana Brown (Gerritt) VanDerworker of Waldoboro, ME; Alan Brown (Kathryn) of Gorham, ME; Edith Lee Wallace of Bangor, ME; Carl (Nadja) Wallace of Scarborough, ME; Jeffery Wallace of Yarmouth, ME; Michael (Yvonne) Wallace of Yarmouth, ME; Tammy Sommers (Don) Voisine of Loris, SC; Dale (Christine) Sommers of Weathersfield, CT; Lisa Combest (John) Havens, Tracy Combest (Brice) Taylor, and Debra Combest (Eric) Berg, all of Kansas City, MO; Phillip (Deborah) Combest of Houston, TX; Scott (Donna) Combest of Huntington Beach, CA; Michele Nassetta-Combest (wife of cousin Steve) of Denver, CO; and aunts Shirley, Sharon, Nancy, Annette, Doris, and Phyllis. Ann is also survived by a host of extended family and friends.

While planning her memorial Ann commented, "There are just not enough lines to list all my friends. One of the greatest joys and enrichments of my life are the friends that I have made in the places I have lived and visited in my life. I am blessed."

In lieu of flowers, Ann desires that donations be made to The Endless Sommers Fund at The Mosby Foundation. Since 2004, The Mosby Foundation has given over 6,000 rescued, sick, injured, neglected, and abused dogs a second chance at life. Donations to The Endless Sommers Fund will continue this healing support for medically challenged animals.

Donations can be mailed to:

The Mosby Foundation

PO Box 1978

Staunton, VA 24402, or

given via the donation page at https://themosbyfoundation.org/.

Please designate The Endless Sommers Fund.