Mary A. Lawson

Mary Alice Lawson, 86, of Colonial Heights, daughter of the late Clarence Anderson and Vera Parks, died Dec. 25.

She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Donald W. Lawson; a sister, Carol Smith of St. Louis; daughters, Diana Payne of Douglass, Texas, Jan Turner of Chester, Va., Anita Poole of Denton, Texas, Martha Koehn of Charlottesville, Va., Julie Lawson-Brown and Hilda Kacmarski, both of Chesterfield, Va.; and one son of Albuquerque, N.M.; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Lawson was born in Ellsworth, Iowa, in 1924. She attended Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, before enrolling in a Curtiss-Wright Cadet program at Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa. During the war years she worked at the Curtiss-Wright plant in Buffalo, N.Y., as an aircraft engine tester. After moving to Virginia, Mrs. Lawson earned her nursing degree from the Petersburg General Hospital School of Nursing. She worked 17 years in the nursing field, retiring in 1986 from the Virginia State Department of Social Services as a nursing home inspector.

Throughout her life she pursued her interest in music and travel. As a member of the Friendship Force, she and her husband traveled in the Pacific and Europe, including a trip on the Concorde. They also sponsored exchange students from Frankfurt, Germany, and Quito, Ecuador. Education was her passion. She enjoyed teaching English as a second language. Often she encouraged others to return to school to increase their knowledge and pursue their dreams. Her husband says the best decision he ever made was asking Mary to marry him.

Mrs. Lawson was a member of Ivey Memorial Methodist Church and the Senior Citizens Club of Colonial Heights.

A memorial service will be held at a later date and contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.