Francis Earl Lawlor

Francis Earl Lawlor was born 1 Feb 1915 in Wildrose ND to Joseph Edward Lawlor and Clara Ethel Palmer. He was named after a favorite great uncle (Francis Lowe) and a cousin (Earl Bowman). Francis' next older brother, Joseph, and the three siblings born after him (David, Chester and Esther) died young - having his siblings die at such an early age tugged at his heart and caused him to have a particularly sensitive nature. The conversion of Francis' parents to the Gospel was such a significant event for Francis and his family, that he felt a recounting of his own life would necessarily begin with mention of their conversion. Joseph was raised a Catholic and Clara was non denominational. When they married Clara signed papers that she would raise the children in the Catholic Church - their first son, James, was christened in the Catholic Church. But then Clara, her sister, Maude, and her mother joined the Seventh Day Adventist Church. They tried to get Joseph to join that church, too. Joseph was not interested in doing so, although he tried to support Clara in her desires to raise the children in that faith. In the fall of 1920 Joseph was discharged as grain buyer by the Farmer's Elevator Co-operative in Corinth, ND, because one of the leaders wanted the position for a relative. Uncle Ernest Cook was the Foreman of a Round house of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad and could obtain work for Joseph prompting a move to Superior WI. Francis attended Kindergarten half a day while there and his experiences there set the stage for a love of learning throughout his life. By December Joseph was working in the woods in nearby Minnesota as a lumberjack cutting evergreen trees. He commuted by streetcar and railroad to the logging camp. In the meantime, shortly after Christmas, 1920, Elders Anthon Leo Olson and Lowell A. Dalley called at the home in Itasca, Wisconsin. Because Clara felt that she had been making some progress with Joseph in interesting him in the Seventh Day Adventist teachings, she kept the Book of Mormon and the numerous tracts and pamphlets she had accepted hidden from him during his visits home every other weekend. But the Lord had his own way of ordering their affairs. After a visit home, Joseph boarded a street car to go to the railroad station to return to the lumber camp. As he sat down he noticed a small pamphlet on the seat entitled "A Friendly Discussion" by Ben E. Rich . This he read with great interest and tucked it away in his suitcase. Upon his return home, he showed it to Clara and said, "If the Seventh Day Adventists had something as logical and straightforward as this, I think I could accept it. There is an address here to obtain further information. I'll write to these people and find out some more about it." Then Clara told him of her contact with the missionaries. Together they studied the Gospel, read the literature left by the missionaries and attended meetings of the branch that were held in an upstairs lodge hall. Convinced that this was indeed the true Church of Jesus Christ, they were baptized on the 21st of April, 1921, in Lake Superior near the ore docks. The water was so cold they put off the baptism of Francis' older brothers, James Edward (age 10) and Lawrence Vincent (age 8). They were baptized the 24th of April, 1921 in the warmer break water of Duluth Minnesota Harbor. Things that had deeply impressed Joseph and Clara were the teachings of the restored gospel regarding family and salvation for the dead, having lost four children in their infancy. With his Catholic upbringing, another teaching which impressed Joseph was the restoration of divine authority. Clara had a good knowledge of the bible - Elder Anton Olson said she kept them busy searching the scriptures to answer her questions. She realized that the things the missionaries were teaching closely followed what she had learned in her study of the scriptures. The Lawlors were a very close knit family. The brothers continued to greet each others with warm hugs throughout their lives. They lived in Wisconsin where there was a branch of the Church for only one year and then returned to North Dakota. Another brother, Nephi, was born the following year. He was colicky from the time he was born and became very ill. Clara requested a blessing from the missionaries. The closest missionaries were sent over 300 miles from Fargo to Zahl ND. They administered to Nephi. The blessing promised he would live to maturity; that he would be active and athletic; and he would fill a mission in that area. Realizing that they needed to live in a place where they could fully participate in the Church, Joseph moved the family to Los Angeles the following year. There Joseph, James and Larry received the priesthood - Francis was also invited to attend priesthood meetings even though he was under 12! The family grew in their knowledge and understanding of the Gospel and became well founded in it. A year after Reed Moroni was born, Joseph decided that Los Angeles was not a good place to raise his 5 boys. They moved to Picture Butte Alberta Canada. Francis' family attended their ward meetings every week, no matter what the weather! When Francis was 17 years old, he went with his family to the Cardston Temple to be sealed together. Francis said of this time, "It was a moment filled with deep emotion that affected me very deeply as a youth approaching 18. That occasion has caused me much reflection on the blessings that ensue from obedience to the Gospel... James left a few days before Christmas for the Canadian Mission in Toronto. For the next two years we had the inspiration of a brother in the mission field. His regular letters home were a source of enlightenment and encouragement to us. Father declared many times that in spite of the combined effect of supporting a son on a mission thereby losing one farmhand and paying a full tithing and other offerings, there was never a time when he found that his financial obligations so readily fulfilled." When Larry married the following summer, Francis became his father's chief farm hand. He cared for the chickens and the pigs and helped with the busy planting and harvesting seasons. Operating the John Deere Model D became his responsibility. During this time he also enrolled in correspondence courses, since the family couldn't pay for him to attend 12th grade or be without his help on the farm. In the spring of 1935 Francis received a call to the Northern States Mission. He traveled by bus to Salt Lake City and spent one week at the mission home. He also went to the genealogy library to begin a lifelong interest in finding out about his ancestors. He learned many things about etiquette and manners in addition to points of the Gospel which he felt made him a better person. It was a very busy and happy period of his life. . In August of 1937 Francis' family came east to pick him up from his mission. Upon returning home Francis enjoyed the round of giving missionary talks in local wards immensely. He worked in the Sugar plant after the harvest was over - his parents took him to BYU at the end of the year. He went to school until he ran out of money, then returned to help with the harvest. He followed this pattern through the next few years and graduated Magna cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1940. He was awarded a teaching assistantship at Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa. He later worked for the Hercules Powder Plant in Wilmington, Delaware and then helped with a TNT plant for them in Chattanooga, Tennessee - this enabled him to be able to help his brother, Nephi, to serve a mission for the Church. Francis had known Charlotte Irmgard Lenz five years before they were married 5 Nov 1942. She had worked as a cook on a cook car for both James and Larry. Francis' parents had become very fond of Lottie and encouraged Francis to marry her. Francis began writing the Lawlor News Letter shortly after they were married. It was sent out at Christmas time each year and Francis would summarize the events of the year. Francis kept a record of his activities during most of his life. He worked for Niagara Alkalai Company in Niagara Falls, NY. Nice people, living close to Canada and working only 44 hours per 5 day week attracted him to the job. He worked as a research chemist there and then at Penn Salt Manufacturing Company, where he made discoveries that resulted in patents for those companies. Francis belonged to the American Chemical Society for most of his career. Often he would come home from the meetings with a new little toy or invention that he would share with his children. Francis had hoped to attend graduate school while in Pennsylvania, but he became the President of the East Penn District in the Church and took only a few classes at the university. Francis was one of the first to purchase a Volkswagen bug in the early 1950s! At that time they were rare in the United States - just owning one caused him to stick his head out the window and ask how a fellow Volkswagen owner liked it! The whole family was able to travel to church in that Volkswagen bug (two adults and 7 children-Francine, Ruth, Martha, Marie, Beth, Juanita and Mark!) Francis always said he was very satisfied with his 6 daughters, but he was extra happy and excited when Mark was born! In 1957 Francis' father became ill with lung cancer. Francis decided it was time to move west to be closer to his father. He had always hoped to return to the Los Angeles area because he had enjoyed his boyhood there so much. The family spent the school year in Mesa Arizona, while Francis finished out the year at Penn Salt Manufacturing Company and started the new year in Torrance CA at the Montrose Chemical Corporation. He became a Seventy in the Church and spent many hours doing missionary work. Bruce was added to the family in 1960 and a couple of months later, Francis was called as Bishop of the Wilmington Ward (until the end of 1967.) While he was bishop Francis lost his hearing due to Otosclerosis - his mother had also suffered from this condition, which is hereditary. As a result he had surgery to improve his hearing, which helped for a few years, but he required a hearing aid to be able to hear in his later years. In about 2005 he became totally deaf. The year 1965 marked the beginning of some of Francis' activities in a political sense, joining the Liberty Amendment Committee, whose objective was to change the income tax laws. He often wrote editorials to the newspaper expressing his political ideas. In 1968, Montrose Chemical Corp. dissolved their research department. Francis found himself in the uneasy position of having to seek new employment at the age of 53. He joined "40 Plus", an organization whose aim was to help older workers find employment. He was eventually employed by American Electric Company. They were building a facility in the airport for manufacture of incendiary bombs. Later he obtained work at WW Henry Company through them. In February 1969, Tony Ringlero of Scottsdale, Arizona., an Indian Placement son joined the family. In 1972 Lottie and Francis went on a trip to Germany to meet Lottie's relatives. Francine was translator for them. On October 24th, 1980 Lottie died of a heart attack. For the next 6 years Francis was very lonely. He frequently went to Glenn and Martha's apartment through the lot where they were living each day. In 1981 Francis went on a trip to visit places they lived in North Dakota and Church historical sites with James and Rhea. In 1986, Francis was meeting with the singles in his ward for family home evening. Dan Revill got married that year - he and Marion "set up" Francis and Deane Peters Moordigian to meet each other at a farewell party before Dan and Marion went on their mission. Living in Carson and serving a Stake mission as well as teaching the Gospel Essentials class while Deane was living in Sylmar, teaching the Spiritual Living Lessons in Relief Society and serving as a Stake Missionary, they didn't have much opportunity for courting. When Francis proposed marriage to Deane in 1988, she said that she wouldn't marry him until she had met his whole family and he had met all of her family. Francis married Deane on July 8th, 1989 when he was 79 years old. They served in the Dallas TX mission together in the Waxahachie Ward starting at the end of the year. At the end of their one year mission, they extended their time for another 6 months. Francis frequently mentioned how blessed he felt in having been able to marry Deane. They worked with reactivation and teaching nonmembers about the Gospel. They visited Ken and Francine in Hawaii after their mission. Francis and Deane lived in Colorado Springs CO, Provo UT and Sylmar CA during their nearly 22 years of marriage. When they made long trips in the car, they would sing songs and recite poetry to each other. They never tired of talking with one another - they found so much that they had in common! They were supervisors of the Provo Tabernacle during much of their time in Provo. Francis financed a research project at BYU to investigate using paper as a motor fuel. In the mid 1990's Glenn Parson brought a computer to Francis so that he could have email. At first Francis thought a pencil and paper was enough to communicate with, but it soon became evident that even though Francis was a "two finger typist," email provided a wonderful way for him to be able to communicate with others. He met some people through email who became good friends and even learned to use googletalk to "talk" with family members! He was in regular communication with his only surviving brother, Nephi Lawlor of Mesa AZ through this medium. Francis loved to teach. Even after he lost his hearing, the high priests of the Sylmar Ward enjoyed the lessons he taught once a month. He would present and lead the discussion and have a member of the class write the points made by class members on the board. Francis was a great "fix-it" man in repairing and inventing things. Whenever he visited children and grandchildren he would fix things for them. Francis liked to figure out how things worked - his science background was a part of his personality. He would take the time to observe closely such things as trees which had taken root in cracks in a building, the mechanism by which a huge clock worked and other "wonders". He built a greenhouse in the yard. He loved to try out new foods and learned to love the regional foods wherever he lived.. Francis thoroughly enjoyed associations with friends and family throughout his life. He was a kind, empathetic, loving person. Francis will be greatly missed by friends and family. He felt richly blessed throughout his life and was very grateful.