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Helen LAWSON Obituary

Published by Dayton Daily News on Nov. 14, 2021.

LAWSON (Stanley), Helen

Age 93, of Vandalia, passed away Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at Hospice of Miami County. She was born in Lee

County, VA, to her late parents, Emmit and Lizzie (Thompson) Stanley. She was preceded in death by her husband of 29 years, Carl E. Lawson, and brothers, Harold T. "Bill" Stanley and Andy P. Stanley. She is survived by her niece, Donna

Stanley of Seymour, IN, close cousins, and many special friends. Helen taught school for 35 years, four of which were in Virginia. She spent 31 years teaching third grade in Vandalia at Vandalia and Demmitt Elementaries (she believed third graders were very curious and eager to learn with a

desire to please). In 1968, Helen was honored as a Jennings Scholar. After retiring in 1983, she enjoyed traveling, gardening, painting, basket-making, and doing creative crafts for the Vandalia-Butler Historical Society Craft Sale. For many years Helen was very active in the Historical Society and served as President and Education chairperson. She really enjoyed teaching visiting children an 1863 class in the Brown School and telling them about pioneer life in the Log House. Helen was selected for the Vandalia-Butler City Schools Roll of

Recognition in 2003. She was a charter member of the Historical Society of Vandalia-Butler Twp., a member of the Vandalia United Methodist Church, Senior Citizens, American Legion Auxiliary #668, and a life-member of the Ohio Education

Association. Friends are invited to a visitation from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., on Wednesday, November 17, at the Vandalia United Methodist Church, 200 S. Dixie Dr., Vandalia. Funeral services will follow at 1:00 p.m. with Pastor Michael Malcosky officiating. Interment will be at Forest Hills Memorial Gardens in Tipp City. In lieu of flowers, contributions should be made in memory of Helen to the Vandalia-Butler Foundation (Helen Lawson Scholarship) or the Food Pantry. Morton & Whetstone Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

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Becky

December 12, 2021

Mrs. Lawson was my third grade teacher at my then-new school, Demmitt Elementary. I arrived from out of state not knowing how to write cursive that my new classmates had already learned the previous year.

Mrs. Lawson made it her mission to very quickly get me up to speed; I spent hours at home with her self-devised cursive practice workbooks. Mrs. Lawson would write out a "sampler" of sorts in her own gorgeous, perfect (aspirational) script and assign me to copy using her examples. I´d happily get to work making page after page of curlicues and attempting the required right-leaning slant - something very difficult for me to perfect as a leftie.

I struggled mightily with my cursive and
despite my earnest attempts, often received low marks on my cursive class work and report card, but I was undaunted!

Mrs. Lawson inspired me to continually improve my handwriting and a lifelong interest in handwriting, fonts and design was fostered.

For fun and pleasure, I hand address in (my perfect script) wedding and party invitations. I even addressed my own wedding invitations when I realized that my own handwriting was just as pretty as the recommended calligrapher´s!

I´m sorry that I wasn´t able to convey these fond memories to Mrs. Lawson while she was alive.

Belated thank you, Mrs. Lawson, from a grateful student in your 1977-1978 third grade class. I certainly was a curious and eager learner and still am, all these years later.