Laverne Ralph Arnold Pockrandt

On May 13, 2020, at the merry age of 93, Laverne Ralph Arnold "Butch" Pockrandt passed peacefully into his eternal home in heaven. He had spent two weeks in the hospital and ended his life in hospice care in Shreveport. Butch, as he was known to all his friends and family, resided in Mansfield/Grand Cane for over 40 years. He was born August 12, 1926 in Henderson, Minnesota to Harry and Clara Pockrandt, Butch had extremely fond, nostalgic memories of growing up in Minnesota, but was always glad to have put his snow shovels and snow blowers aside for the warmer winter temperatures in Louisiana. Butch's working career spanned "soup to nuts" as he would say, starting work as a young man with a soup company in Illinois. Butch was drafted into the U.S. Army on December 7, 1944 and served in the Philippines prior to the end of the war. After the war's end, he began a long career in the nut cracking/packing industry which ultimately led him to the Mansfield area. He was affiliated with the SNA Nut Company out of Chicago for nearly 50 years, living and working at nut-packing plants in Illinois, Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana. In the 1980s, his parents, Harry and Clara Pockrandt were residents of Mansfield for a few years. Butch was well known around town, including making regular stops to "inspect" and advise at the nut plant, being a regular at the bank, post office, Billy B's restaurant, and Bubba English's Wrecker and Auto Parts shop. Butch was an active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of Post 4586. He is a member of First Baptist Church of Mansfield and could be found sitting in the front row. Butch was famous for making road trips to family reunions in the Minnesota area into his 90s. All who knew him in DeSoto Parish, loved him, and loved to hear stories he told of his life, and often enjoyed a package of pecans Butch gave as gifts from the pecan plant. Butch was preceded in death by his parents, Harry & Clara Pockrandt; wife, Gwen Pockrandt; son, Larry Pockrandt; and brothers, Milo Pockrandt and Delton "Bud" Pockrandt. Left behind to cherish his memory are his son, Gary Pockrandt; daughters, Gloria Summers and Debbie Hannig and husband Richard; stepdaughters, Claire Wright and husband Allan and Christie Tuck and husband Mark; sisters, Dorothy Tock, Arlene St.Clair and husband Dick, and Carol May Wehrstein and husband Roger; grandchildren, Sasha, Jessica, Christopher, Nathan, Heath and Hunter, along with two great-grandchildren. The funeral will be held Thursday, May 21 at Rose-Neath Funeral Home in Mansfield. Visitation will occur between 12:00-2:00 p.m., funeral service will be at 2:00 p.m. with burial to follow at Mansfield Cemetery. Pastor Thumper Miller will officiate. Honoring Butch as pallbearers will be Rick Hannig, Allan Wright, Nathan Wright, Newell Atkinson, Jose Ibarra, and Bubba English.