Ann R. Lawrence, 91, of Dalton, died Wednesday, August 1, 2018 at Brenn-Field Nursing Center in Orrville where she had been a resident for the past six years. Friends may call Friday, Aug. 10, from 6-8 p.m. at Zak-Thacker & Monbarren Funeral Home, 29 E. Main St., Dalton, OH 44618, where services will be held Saturday, Aug. 11th at 11 a.m. with Pastor Mike McFarren, officiating. Burial will be at Dalton Cemetery. Friends who wish may contribute to Living Water Church, 200 N. Kurzen Road, Dalton, OH 44618 Anna Mary Reid was born April 30, 1927 in Santa Monica, Calif. to Charles Thomas Reid and Mildred Linville Reid. As a high school student during World War II she spent a summer packing peaches in Auburn, Calif. to help with the war effort. She earned frequent recognition at Santa Monica High School for her talent as an artist and dreamed of a career someday as an illustrator for the Walt Disney Company. Following her high school graduation in 1945 she went to work for a Santa Monica department store. Not long afterward she met Dalton native Glenn Lawrence. The two married on March 13, 1946 and enjoyed an active life camping, boating, and snow and water skiing. Every summer they drove across historic Route 66 and beyond to visit Glenn’s Ohio hometown – a distance of more than 2,300 miles each way in the days before interstate highways. In 1950 their first child, Melody Ann, was born. Five years later Glenn’s father, Carl, suffered a major stroke at age 59. In June of 1955 Ann and Glenn moved from Santa Monica to Dalton both to help his parents and to let Melody attend school in a safe rural environment. Daughter Louise Ann and son James Glenn (Jim) were born in Ohio. Ann served as a leader for Dalton Girl Scout Troop 561, was active in Dalton Band Parents and for several years wrote a personal column, “Ann’s Meanderings,” in The Dalton Gazette. She also was enthusiastically involved in Stark Wilderness Center. She worked in the meat department of Berg’s IGA in Dalton during the 1960s and 1970s to help put her children through college. Ann taught Sunday School and sang in the choir at Dalton United Methodist Church. She later attended Living Water Church near Dalton. She enjoyed being a room mother and hosting her children’s school classes and her Sunday School classes at the Lawrence home, “Hilly Acres,” for picnics that often included nature trail walks or, in season, ice skating. One of her children’s friends described Ann as “the fun mom” who always had time to help catch frogs or butterflies or whip up a batch of cookies. For many years Ann and Glenn spent winters in Tucson, Ariz., where her parents had retired many years earlier. Glenn died in Tucson on April 16, 1999. Ann continued to spend winters in Tucson until 2011 when she moved to OrrVilla Retirement Community in Orrville. She became a resident of Brenn-Field after a fall in 2012. Surviving are children Melody Snure (Mel McKeachie) of Dalton, Louise (Kim “Tip”) Frank of Rock Hill, S.C., and Jim (Laurel) Lawrence of Elida, Ohio; grandchildren Stephanie (Ronald) Hunter of Richmond, Ky., Elizabeth (Dante) Zompetti of Dayton, Ohio, Abigail Lawrence of Lexington, Ky., Philip Lawrence of Elida, Ohio, Rachel (Will) Carraway of Clover, S.C. and Ryan Frank of Rock Hill, S.C.; step-granddaughter Gale (Bob) Hevener of Doylestown; great-grandchildren Trenton and Grace Hunter, DJ Zompetti and Henry Carraway; sisters Eleanor Jean Zavaleta of Austin, Texas, and Ginger (Walter) White of San Diego, Calif.; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband, brothers Robert and Charles and sister Peggy died previously. The family would like to thank the staff at Brenn-Field for their wonderful care of Ann. Online obituary and guest registry are available at www.zakmonbarrenfh.com (Zak-Thacker & Monbarren, 330-828-2536) Donations may be made to: Living Water Church 200 N. Kurzen Rd., Dalton OH 44618
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Ann R Lawrence April 30 1927 August 1 2018 (age 91).
Zak-Thacker & Monbarren Funeral Home
Death notice for the town of: Doylestown, state: Ohio