Gladys Vivian Lawrence, 22 Jan 1919 - 14 Sept 2015

LAWRENCE, WARD, NAYLOR, BROWN, LAWRENCE-FISHBAUGHER, SCHROCK, ALT, LEDOUX

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 10/23/2015 at 16:32:06

Gladys Vivian Lawrence, 96, died Monday, Sept. 14, 2015. Mrs. Lawrence was a resident of the Solon Care Center.

Mrs. Lawrence was born Jan. 22, 1919, near Prairie Hill, Mo., the youngest child of Arthur Evan and Viola Naylor Ward. She graduated from Prairie Hill High School in 1937. On Jan. 20, 1941, she married George Lawrence in Huntsville, Mo. They resided in Moberly and Prairie Hill, Mo., until their move to Iowa in 1952. They lived in the South English community for several years and lived in rural Keota since 1956. In 2014, Gladys moved to an assisted living facility in Iowa City. In the summer of 2015, she moved to the Solon Care Center.

Gladys was a homemaker as well as having worked outside of the home. In the late 1930s, she worked in a candy shop/lunch counter in Moberly, where she met George. She worked at Noel's Pharmacy in North English in the 1950s. In 1963, she began working at Owens Brush in Iowa City. It was known as Oral B when she retired in 1987.

Gladys was a member of the Kinross Christian Church, where she taught Sunday school and belonged to the Social Circle Women's Club.

Gladys enjoyed bowling and was a member of the bowling team at Owens Brush and Oral B. She and George enjoyed dancing. They were part of a group of square dancers that promoted the North English Centennial in 1954. They also enjoyed dancing to the big band sound.

Gladys is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Tom and Sandy of Solon; a son and daughter-in-law, Jerry and Linda of Downey; granddaughters, Tricia (Robert) Brown and Jessica (David) Lawrence-Fishbaugher; a daughter, Julie Lawrence of Riverside and Joe Schrock of Tiffin; a daughter-in-law, Connie Alt of Cedar Rapids; granddaughters, Andi Lawrence and Katie Lawrence; granddaughter, Melia (Josh) Ledoux, and her mother, Gloria Lawrence; and two great-granddaughters, Shaylin and Larkin Brown.

She was preceded in death by her son, Jack, in February 2000, and her husband, George, in June 2003.

Celebration of Life service will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, at Yoder-Powell Funeral in Kalona. The Rev. Jim Stout will officiate. Visitation will be from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established for Iowa City Hospice.

Messages may be sent to the family at www.powellfuneralhomes.com.

The Gazette, Posted on Thursday, 17 September 2015
English Valleys Star, 23 Sept 2015