Frances Lawlor

It is with great sorrow that the Lawlor family announces the loss of their beloved mother, Frances, who passed away on December 13, 2023, at the age of 92.

Francesca Amantea was born in Maione, Italy, in 1931, to Eugenio and Erminia Amantea.

In 1946, a 15-year-old Francesca, accompanied by her mother and younger brother Hugo, arrived in the United States via Ellis Island on their way to Los Angeles to help her father run his eponymous cafe, Gino's.

While working at Gino's in the early 50's, this Mediterranean beauty caught the eye of LAPD beat cop Thomas Patrick Lawlor, a strapping first-generation Irish American.

Wedding bells swiftly followed, and not long afterward, a burgeoning brood.

In 1956, Tommy and Frances bought a corner plot in the country's first planned city, La Mirada. Seven years later, the four-bedroom ranch-style dwelling was filled to capacity!

The camaraderie, support, and great friendships Frances forged within this idyllic community with fellow mothers Dorothy, Betty, Sophie, and Betsy helped her navigate the herculean task of raising six children in an adoptive country.

In the late 1970s, with the family facing hard times, Frances found herself on the front lines. The cookie line at our nation's preeminent biscuit factory, Nabisco, After a brief stint scooping Wheat Thins et al. from a conveyor belt, she herself was scooped up and given a coveted spot in the Sanitation Department. The move represented a change in unions, a substantial pay raise, and the perfect environment for her detailed, meticulous nature to shine-literally. The impact of her tenure at Nabisco cannot be overstated. She found new confidence and financial freedom, but most importantly, she formed life-long friendships with other hard-working ladies like Naomi, Katie, Angie, Linda, and Marylou.

After Tommy's death in 2001, Frances ramped up her travels, enjoying trips to Puerto Vallarta with beloved cousin Elena and husband Pasquale, Hawaii, and Europe-with notable trips to Barcelona, Antwerpen, Brugge, Amsterdam, Paris, Lille, Brussels, Ghent, Cologne, and London.

However, it was her home of 67 years and sunny California where she was most happy. She loved trips to the beach and being tan. She loved to be barefoot and wield a nozzled hose to tidy her yard. She loved to prepare good food, feed people, and dish the dirt over an espresso with the girls. Owing to her good health and support from her children, family friends Jill and Marti, and most recently, her niece Christina Erminia, she was able to live out her life in her forever home.

She is survived by her six children: Nora Patricia Greer (Jeff), Michael Eugene, Christina Maria (Mehran Saidi), Thomas Sean, Timothy John (Susan), and Terence Brendan (Ivan). She is also survived by her nine grandsons: Kyle, Wesley, Kevin, Jacob, Karl, Andrew, Bradley, Riley, and Thomas; and her six great-grandchildren, Emma, Kayli, Alex, Declan, Allan, and James.

This amazing, strong-willed American matriarch will be greatly missed. It is said that if a mother has done her job right, her voice will be in the ears of her children all their lives. Let's just say she excelled at being a mother!