Valonta Gweneth Schmid was born on January 14, 1926 to Wesley and Edna (Fredrickson) Schmid of Beresford. She attended Pleasant Valley School, Beresford High School, and National Business College in Sioux City, Iowa.

On April 15, 1947 she married Clarence Lawrenson of Beresford. They lived in town for a while, then purchased 80 acres of farmland from the Birkland estate, which became their new country home. To this union, four children were born: Connie Kay, born April 24, 1949, born premature and only living one day, Leta Marie, born December 6, 1959 – June 24, 2023, Lola Mae, and Chris Wesley.

She joined the Pleasant Study Club in 1946 in which she was very active. One of her official duties included a trip to Washington, DC for further training. This club merged with the Progress Study Club, of which she was still a member. She was very active in the Zion Church by helping with Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, singing in the choir and helping with the youth group and ladies' organizations. The church merged with the Methodist Church in Beresford where she remained active in the UMW and church choir. She was also a member of the VFW Auxiliary and received her 50-year member pin in 2023.  She organized the Red Hat Society of Beresford in 2004 and remained a member until they disbanded.

Clarence passed away May 2, 1973. She married Dale Cleland on May 15, 1974 at the Little Brown Church at Nashua, Iowa. They continued to live on the country place until October, 2010 when they moved into Beresford, SD.  Dale passed away June 6, 2014. She lived independently at her home in Beresford until she moved into Bethesda Nursing home at the age of 97 where she lived until her death on September 24, 2025.

She loved to dance! She took tap dancing lessons, square dancing lessons and clogging lessons and she was a very good dancer. She enjoyed scrapbooking and detailing many of the events in her life and her travels. Her many travel adventures included Germany, New York City, especially enjoying the Statue of Liberty, Alaska, Canada and Florida. She also went to Hawaii with Bette Cleland. She and Dale spent winters in Texas and after his passing she continued to travel there, meeting many different people and making friends over the 39 years she spent in Texas.

Those who mourn her loss are her children, Lola (Lawrenson) Pollard and Chris (Carla) Lawrenson; six grandchildren, Lee (Dee) Kunselman, Crystal (Kunselman) Saufley (Craig), Pryce Pollard, Rita Pollard, Emily (Lawrenson) Scherrer (Josh), and Jeremy Lawrenson; one great-granddaughter, Madyn Kunselman; and Dale's children, Don, Corene, Karen, Nancy, & Calvin.

Preceding her in death were her four siblings, Ione Schmid, Neva Speich and husband Henry, Clifford Schmid and wife Gladyce, and Bernita Meeker and husband Grant; and her two daughters, Connie Kay and Leta Marie.

Funeral services will be 11AM Monday, September 29, 2025 at Beresford Zion United Methodist Church, 47106 298th Street, Beresford. Visitation will be 5-7PM Sunday at the church with a prayer service at 6:30. Memorials may be directed to Zion Cemetery, 47405 293rd St., Beresford, SD  57004.