Bernice Lawson

During her last days she enjoyed music, the singing of songs and the calls of friends and family and pets. Family members were with her as she died and gathered in prayer in the spirit of her life in Christ.

She was born in Christopher, Illinois in 1921 to Emma and John Clark. Survivors include her four children, Francesca Berryhill, John Lawson, James Lawson and David Lawson, fifteen grandchildren and sixteen great grandchildren, the latest born on her birthday. Bernice was preceded in death by her husband Louie “Buzz” Lawson.

She attended public schools in Christopher, Illinois and then Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri and graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois majoring in children’s theater and later a degree in elementary education from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. She danced, modelled, played the flute and piano and had a deep love for children’s theatre, radio and the arts. Bernice became an elementary school teacher. In Phoenix, Arizona she taught nearly 50 children in one classroom while raising her daughter as a single parent. Then she met and married Louie L. Lawson, a wildlife biologist and World War II veteran. She lived in Arizona and Illinois before settling in Naples, Florida in 1968 with her family. Bernice was a founding member of Ikebana in Collier County, was a member of Welcome to Florida and the Art Association and Moorings Presbyterian Church where she guided and directed a puppet ministry for many years. She started the first Montessori School in Naples. In retirement she travelled with her husband and family to the Holy Land, Alaska, Norway, Brazil and many other locations. Bernice will be remembered for her love of hats, playing Mahjong, her creative love of God and family. She had a strong spirit of overcoming the challenges of life having nearly died in a car crash when she was eighteen and in later years surviving a series of strokes.

Services will be held at on 10 a.m., Monday February 23, at Moorings Presbyterian Church 791 Harbour Drive, Naples, Florida in the Webster Chapel. Relatives and friends are welcome at the service and the reception immediately following. Graveside dedication will be held in private at Naples Memorial Gardens with arrangements by Hodges Funeral Home.

The family offers thanks to the staff and volunteers at Avow Hospice and Moorings Park for their help and support in the final months of her life.

Memorial contributions are welcomed and should be given to the charity of your choice.