Lavina McKeehan was born on October 15, 1887 to George Washington McKeehan and Minnie Francis May McKeehan in Cincinnati, Iowa. She was the second of twelve children but the first of eight to survive childhood. Lavina McKeehan graduated from Cincinnati High School in 1905 and went on to complete a six-week training program at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa to become certified as a teacher. Following her certification, she taught in the Cincinnati, Iowa school system for several years.

Lavina McKeehan married William Clarence Power, a Nebraska pharmacist, in 1909. The couple had two sons: William Clarence Power, Jr., born in 1910, and John Xavier Power, born in 1912. Between 1909 and 1926, the family moved seventeen times, often within the same city, because William Power operated a chain of drug stores with his uncle, Joseph Hooker, and the two would "trade" stores, causing the family to move. The boys, especially John Power, helped operate the stores and Lavina Power kept the stores' books for a time.

Lavina Power was amember of the Daughters of the American Revolution, (DAR) and PEO. She also enjoyed gardening and stamp collecting. She remained close to her sisters and brothers, even after many of them moved to the West Coast. Lavina Power died in 1967.