Amy Kathleen Lawton

Amy Kathleen Lawton of Highlands Ranch, Colorado and Escondido, California, passed away peacefully on the morning of August 7, 2013, after a long life characterized by her love for family and friends, hard work and service to others. She is survived by her son, John William Lawton of Vista, California and daughter Anna Kathleen Lawton of Reno, Nevada, and six grandchildren. In addition, she is survived by her older siblings Anadel Law of Palo Alto, California and Menlo Smith of St. Louis, Missouri, her twin sister Erma Smith of Castro Valley, California, and her younger sister Shirley Larson of Portola Valley, California.

Amy was the daughter of Lillian and J. Fish Smith. She was born November 15, 1929, on the homestead ranch of her grandparents, William and Anna Fountain, near Alamosa, Colorado. During early June of 1929, her mother, with two children, four and two years old, had escaped the heat in College Station, Texas, to spend the summer with her parents. Later that summer when she consulted two different doctors about her pregnancy, both strongly advised against returning to Texas at summer's end because, as they informed her, she had miscalculated her baby's November arrival date and the arrival was imminent. There followed nearly four months of waiting for an obviously large baby to arrive. Finally, one night in mid-November, a day before Lillian's calculated date, a doctor and a nurse were called to the house and a six pound Amy made her debut. A few moments later, much to everyone's surprise, her twin sister, Erma, arrived.

Because their father was studying and teaching at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, he was unable to join the family until the term ended six weeks later. Meanwhile almost daily letters went back and forth between Alamosa and College Station, the main subject being the choice of names for the two babies. Until a decision was reached, Amy was known as Pinkberry and Erma as Blueberry. Shortly before the new year, the babies and their siblings were packed into the 1928 Chevrolet, along with a thermos of boiling water and some canned milk, and made the first of their many travels the thousand miles to their future home.

In 1930 the family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where Amy’s father bought into a small manufacturing firm. A few years later the firm was dissolved and her father began manufacturing a drink powder called Fruzola. It was a struggle to make a go of it during the depression years, but he was assisted by all five of his children who worked during spring and summer vacations from the time they were about ten years old until they finished their schooling. Both of the twins took music and vocal lessons and were members of their church choir.

Amy and Erma attended the University of Utah where they majored in Education and graduated in 1951. They were members of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and Amy served as president of the sorority during her senior year. Upon graduation, they moved to

California, where they taught school for several years, first in Stockton and later in Redwood City. As a primary school teacher, Amy’s caring spirit made a dramatic impact on many students. In one example, she took a special interest in a third grade student who had lost his mother. That student later became a successful entertainment executive, and as a middle-aged man credited Amy for being instrumental in his success. In fact, he visited Amy when she was in her 70s and stayed in touch with her until the end of her life.

Upon arrival in Stockton for teaching, Amy and Erma began regular visits to their sister Anadel, who lived in Menlo Park and worked at Stanford University. Anadel introduced them to her coworker, John Lawton, a graduate student in Geology. It was not long before John singled out Amy and began a serious courtship. He was attracted by her dry sense of humor and, as he said, “she didn’t talk as much as other girls.” Both girls returned to Salt Lake City during summer vacation to work for their father. Shortly after their school terms began again, John presented Amy with a beautiful diamond engagement ring, and they were married at the Wasatch Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City during Christmas vacation, December 27, 1952. John and Amy would have been married for 60 years last year, had he not passed away May 22, 2011. In 1956, John earned his Ph.D. in Petroleum Geology, and accepted a position with Shell Oil Company in Casper, Wyoming. Their first child, John William, was born in 1961, and after a transfer to Denver a few years later, their second child, Anna Kathleen was born.

Amy was a very devoted wife and mother, choosing to stay home with her two children and support her husband as he achieved success in the oil and gas industry in Denver. Youth sports and activities, as well as church, drive-in movies and family meals produced many fond memories for the family, and opportunities for Amy to instill strong family values in her children. The family spent many hours together in the local mountains, sailing on high alpine Lake Dillon and skiing at local areas. The mountains were a great backdrop not only for Amy to teach her children lessons in the beauty of God’s creation, but also in positive thinking, gratitude, hard work and loving others. In keeping with the values she taught them, eventually her children attained master’s degrees in their respective fields, started families of their own and produced six grandchildren.

In 1987, John and Amy established Lawton Resources, an independent oil and gas consulting firm. At this time they hired Kathy Mohrbacher, their dedicated executive assistant who has served them loyally for more than 25 years. Kathy was not only instrumental in John and Amy’s business success, but became a beloved addition to the family, and tirelessly managed their day-to-day care in their final years. For that, John and Anna are truly grateful.

Amy worked alongside John in his business endeavors, and over the years they established four other companies that branched into the telecommunications and real estate industries. Amy displayed great business acumen and a tremendous knack for investing throughout these years, but her true passion was sharing the blessings attained through these successful enterprises.

Throughout her adult life, Amy put her love of others into action in the form of both service and charitable donations. She was a long-time member of Wellshire Presbyterian Church, where she helped establish some of their key ministries. She served on the board of directors for World Neighbors, and worked to raise funds for many worthy causes and charities, including Excelsior Youth Center, Colorado Advocates for Children, the Tennyson Center, Colorado State University, Anchor Center for the Blind and Children’s Hospital Foundation.

“Both Amy and her beloved husband, John, were meaningful and generous benefactors for our Excelsior girls,” wrote Joan Gabrielson, Executive Director, Excelsior Youth Center. “Since 1991 the Lawton Scholarship program provided funding for 113 girls to pursue their educational dreams. As a loving, caring and nurturing woman, Amy was always accepting of our girls despite some of their significant challenges. Every day, we’ll miss her and honor her memory.”

In 2011, Amy realized her dream of establishing the AJL Charitable Foundation. In a letter to foundation benefactors, Amy wrote, “Every person deserves respect and the opportunity to improve his or her life. The foundation was created to support qualified charitable organizations whose primary purpose is to provide for those in need of education, care and support.” Today, the foundation supports dozens of worthy charities, including the ones mentioned above throughout her life, Amy showed a deep zeal for living and an indomitable spirit. But perhaps nobody really knew how tough she really was until the last few years. Despite health challenges that would have brought even the toughest to their knees, she persevered and was an inspiration to all who knew her. Through positive thinking and hard work, she made incredible comebacks from two cardiac arrests, and earned the nickname “cat with nine lives,” from the staff at the care center where she lived. Once, when one of her doctors remarked how tough she was, she said, “Getting old ain’t for sissies.”

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the AJL Charitable Foundation, PO Box 3339, Littleton, Colorado, 80161-3339.