Peggy Lawton, 92, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, March 10, 2017. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, she was the daughter of James Milton Freeland and Mary Flowerree Holmes. She was preceded in death by her parents and only sibling Jean Freeland, who died in a car accident when Peggy was 11 years old and Jean was 16. Peggy attended Ogontz Junior College graduating in 1945. Ogontz was a prestigious finishing school in Abbington, Pensylvania, known for its military drills and former graduate, Amelia Earhart.
rn
She married her late husband, William S. Lawton Jr., at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City, Missouri, May 5, 1948. She was remarried at St. Monica’s Catholic Church in San Francisco on November 26, 1957 when Bill returned to the Catholic faith. She is survived by sons William Lawton III (wife Irina), David Lawton (wife Paula) Mark Lawton (late wife Cindy) and by daughters Anji Ray (husband Bruce), Jean Goulding (husband Dan) and Christine Lawton.
rn
She has 14 grandchildren, Michael Ray (wife Kathy), Christine Ray Roe (husband Chad), Timothy Ray (wife Jordan) and Caitlyn Ray Bennett (husband Mark), Sarah Harris, Anjie Goulding, Daniel Goulding (wife Ashley), Greg Goulding, Denis Goulding, Patrick Brown, Max Blesch, Megan Lawton and Matthew Lawton. She is predeceased by her grandson Keith Harris.
rn
She has 16 great grandchildren: Madison and Owen Roe; Caden, Brendan and Christian Ray; Landon, Carson and Mackenzie Ray; Connor, Sophia, Abigail and Matthew Bennett; Makenna and Brayden Goulding; Thomas Brito; and Andrew Dakhnovsky.
rn
rn
rn
As her granddaughter Caitlyn said at her funeral, “Nana’s greatest gift was her sense of humor and ability to relate to anyone no matter how old you were”. She was funny and loved to tease and laugh. Peggy continued to sing the same silly songs she sang to her kids when they were young, to her grandkids and great grandkids. She was resilient and spent a good part of her life raising a family and following her husband Bill as a military wife making new friends in Japan, France and from the East to the West coasts and back.
rn
She loved Impressionist painters, ballet and dancing to swing music. As anyone in her family would tell you she had a passion for seafood and she loved French cooking and entertaining. She enjoyed having a baby on her lap as much as a serious discussion with a friend, a grandchild or great grandchild. As she aged she could remember more French than English, she read voraciously, and loved to watch tennis, Shark Tank and Blue Bloods (or anything with Tom Selleck) on TV.
rn
Even though Peggy grew up privileged she knew she had been blessed. She was always grateful for family and friends that loved her and for the opportunities God had given her. She was humble, knew her faults and worked hard to change them. She had great compassion, she was always quick to forgive and let you know how much you were loved. Peggy leaves a legacy of love and prayer which carried her through until the end. Every night before she went to sleep she would always say: “See you tomorrow and if not, I’ll meet you at the gate.”
rn
If she were to leave us all a message it would be: “If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever.” Winnie the Pooh
rn
At Peggy’s request, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to BirthRight of Humble or the charity of your choice. BirthRight is a pregnancy counseling organization that Peggy worked towards helping for many years.
rn
http://birthright.org/en/landingpage/lp-humble
rn
Visitation: A Rosary was held on 2017-03-17 at St. Martha’s Catholic School Chapel.
To express your sympathy with a flower arrangement please contact our florist.
Stay up to date on the latest features and releases by perusing our articles.
Uniform Electronic Transactions Act 43.002(8)-“Electronic Signature” means that an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.
