Barbara Paulette Lawhorne

Paulette was born on May 14, 1943, in Watonga, Oklahoma, to R.A. “Boots” and Helen (Feagins) Knight. As part of a military family, Paulette spent her youth in Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, West Germany, and eventually Georgia, where she attended junior and senior high school and graduated from Warner Robins High School in 1961.

After high school, Paulette married Donald “Don” Ray Lawhorne, with whom she shared 18 years of marriage. Early in their marriage, Paulette and Don welcomed their twin boys, David and Donald, who remained the pride and joy of her life.

For the next 30 years, Paulette built a career in human resources with the company that began as Western Electric after moving the family to the Dallas, Texas area. As the organization evolved through several mergers and transformations, including AT&T Technologies and Lucent Technologies, she remained a steadfast and valued employee whose commitment and resilience reflected her character.

After retiring, Paulette moved to Oklahoma City with her aging father to take care of Boots in his final years. While there, she enjoyed staging for a local estate liquidation company – often spending her earnings mining treasures from each sale. In addition, she ardently collected Hummel figurines, beanie babies, Hallmark Christmas ornaments, as well as Westie-themed and pig-themed decorative objects at various times in her life.

After Boots passed away, Paulette eventually moved back to Dallas to be closer to her sons. She then developed a newfound passion in researching her family history – taking great pride in tracing her ancestors and preserving her family’s heritage on Ancestry.com. A proud breast cancer survivor, Paulette enjoyed maintaining contact with her friends and former colleagues, playing Spades and Solitaire online, sharing her Wordle results nightly, and supporting her father’s Oklahoma Sooners and her sons’ Texas A&M Aggies. She also loved her West Highland White Terriers (Westies) – Mollie, Mandie, and Maisie.

Paulette is survived by her sons, David Lawhorne of Dallas, Texas, and Donald (Laurie) Lawhorne of San Diego, California; her brother, Randy (Susie) Knight of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; a niece, three nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and a host of other loving family members and friends.

Paulette was preceded in death by her parents.

A service celebrating the life of Paulette Lawhorne will be held at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at Ted Dickey West Funeral Home (7990 President George Bush Turnpike, Dallas, Texas). A reception celebrating her life will immediately follow the service. Interment will take place following the reception at 3:30 PM at Sparkman/Hillcrest Memorial Park (7405 West Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas).

Memorial contributions in honor of Paulette may be made to the Gary Sinise Foundation.