Barbara Busse Lawson Hales

Barbara Busse Lawson Hales, 88, died peacefully at home on December 31, 2014. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 20, 1926 to Irvin Arthur Busse, Sr. and Mabel Davis Busse. She graduated as class valedictorian from Riverside-Brookfield High School and received a degree in economics from the University of Michigan. In 1948, she married Lawrence J. Lawson Jr., MD and enjoyed a wonderful 45-year marriage until his death in 1993. In 1999, Barbara married Burton W. Hales Jr. and enjoyed another 13 years of truly wedded bliss up until his death in 2013.

Except for a year she spent living in Philadelphia while her husband attended the graduate medical school of the University of Pennsylvania and six months she spent teaching English in Japan during the Korean War, Barbara lived her adult life on the North Shore of Chicago. She was very active in her communities, serving as the first female trustee of the Village of Kenilworth and as the second female member of the Kenilworth School District Board of Education. Other organizations she was active in over the years as an officer or board member include the Woman’s Athletic Club of Chicago, the Junior League of Evanston, the Easter Seal Society, the Woman’s Auxiliary of Evanston Hospital, the Wilmette Women’s Golf Association and the Josselyn Center. She also volunteered as a scout leader, Junior Great Books leader and Sunday school teacher. From 1984 to 1994 Barbara was a real estate agent and broker for Quinlan & Tyson/Merrill Lynch/Prudential where she was in the President’s Circle. In her spare time Barbara was an avid golfer and traveler, visiting all 50 states and many foreign countries. In her later years she enjoyed spending time in vacation homes near family in Sonoma County, CA and Charlevoix, MI.

Barbara was an extraordinary daughter, sister, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and friend. She will be deeply missed by all. In addition to her husbands, she is predeceased by her brother, Irvin Arthur Busse, Jr. and son Bruce Busse Lawson and survived by her daughter Deborah Lawson Cleveland (Paul), son Jim Lawson (Wende) and four grandchildren, Becky and Tom Cleveland and Grace Anne and James Lawson. She also is survived by three loving step-daughters and their spouses and four step-granddaughters.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 10th at the Kenilworth Union Church at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in her memory to causes that became important to her through her grandchildren: Sweetwater Spectrum, An Innovative Housing Solution for Adults with Autism, 369 Fifth Street West, Sonoma, CA, 95476, or Lurie Children’s Hospital, Food Allergy Clinical Research Program, Attn: Kevin Braden, 225 East Chicago Avenue, Box 4, Chicago, IL 60611-2991.