Obituary of Eugene Lawson

Eugene Lawson, age 99, died March 31st, 2020, at LutheranCare after an extended period of health decline. Gene was born in Cleveland, TN, on February 27, 1921, and enjoyed playing sports with his brothers, sister, and cousins. During the depression he worked half-time while attending high school. After graduating Valedictorian from Bradley Central High School in 1939 he worked in a local woolen mill until the beginning of WWII. In 1942 he entered the Army Air Corps and as 1st lieutenant served as communications and cryptographics officer at Alconbury Air Force Base, north of Cambridge, England. When the war ended, he attended the University of Chattanooga and later the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, on the G.I. Bill. There he dated and married his college sweetheart, Wilma Green. They were married 69 years, until her death in May, 2016. After he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1949, they moved to New York, living in Schenectady and Syracuse before moving to Clinton in 1953. Eugene worked 34 years for General Electric as an electrical engineer, primarily on guidance systems for NASA, including Mercury, Gemini, Atlas, and Apollo rockets and Skylab. He was active in the Stone Presbyterian Church, Scouting, and the Kiwanis Club in Clinton. He and Wilma enjoyed camping and hiking in the Adirondacks where they had a cabin for many years. He retired from General Electric in 1983 and enjoyed playing golf, working on home projects, and traveling to see extended family. Eugene is survived by a daughter, Christopher Gowell, of Eliot, ME; and two sons, David Lawson and his wife Lauren, of Seattle, WA, and Kevin Lawson and his wife, Patty, of La Mirada, CA; and by his grandchildren, Aaron Gowell, Russell Lawson, Julie Lawson, Laura Mullins, Nathan Lawson, and Sarah Lawson. Another daughter, Lonnie, died several years ago. He will be dearly missed. Due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, a memorial service will be planned at a later date at the Stone Presbyterian Church, in Clinton. Burial will be in Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga, TN, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Eugene’s memory to the Stone Presbyterian Church, PO Box 33, Clinton, NY 13323.