John Phillip Lawson's Obituary
John P. Lawson, 86, passed away peacefully on Sept. 30, 2016 at Madigan Army Hospital with his son, Theodore, at his side and surrounded by pictures of his loving family from a stroke on Sept. 25. He was born on May 20, 1930, the youngest of four siblings of Earl James Lawson, a veteran of WW!, and Helen Van Kirk in Rochester IN. He grew up on the family farm and attended school in Leiters Ford IN. His father loved baseball and would take him along by train to watch the Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field during the depression years in the 1930s. His mother, a strong righteous women whose motto was " waste not want not”, never turned down the many vagabonds that came to their farmhouse seeking food and shelter during the depression. In the sixth grade he met his soulmate, Martha Colleen Gelbaugh, when the Gelbaughs moved to a farm nearby in Leiters Ford. They married in 1946 while they were quite young. John enlisted in the Army in 1947 and was soon shipped off to Japan where he served at the Sugamo Military Prison outside Tokyo, where the Japanese War criminals were kept and executed when convicted. John participated as a guard escorting them to the gallows in numerous executions. He hated that job and had nightmares for the rest of his life. The first chance he got he put in to transfer and was trained as a cook, which he did for the rest of his Army career. He also served in Ft. Knox KY, Germany, Ft. Monroe VA, Korea. and finally Ft Lewis. Serving with the 18th Artillery in Germany he suffered major hearing loss from the firing of the 8 inch guns. He had many fond memories of driving the Field Mess trucks in huge convoys through German towns and villages. He loved the Army and doing things the Army way. He retired in 1968 and settled his family in Lakewood WA where he worked for 20 years for Safeway. His oldest sons Eric and Theodore joined the Air Force and had successful careers. Eric settled in Idaho and Theodore in Utah with their families. His son Steven was a great high school and college football player and settled in Lakewood as a real estate broker and with his wife Kerry, raised his own family. Michael his youngest son a true Seahawks fan, was born developmentally challenged and has always stayed in the home, John, provided for him.
His beloved wife, Colleen, was at heart an Indiana farm girl just as he was an Indiana farm boy, a true match made in heaven. She stuck by him through many hard times and separations caused by the Army. They had many great times camping out, gardening, visiting friends, taking long road trips, and just sitting quietly in their easy chairs watching TV. Although never a smoker she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1995. Surgery and other treatments kept her alive until 2005. She gave cancer a good fight. The same year his son ,Steven, was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy which prevented him from working and finally took his life in 2012.
John, being a tough Indiana farm boy, took these losses in stride and moved on with his life. But in fact dementia has been setting in for years and by 2013 he was no longer able to take care of himself and was suffering heart and kidney problems. He spent time at Patriot’s Landing in assisted living and memory care but he hated it and made him think he was back at Sugamo, only this time as a prisoner. In 2015 his granddaughter, Jennifer took over his care at her house in Pullalup but he was not happy and eventually moved back to Patriot’s Landing. In Jan.2016 his son Theodore moved back to the family home in Lakewood and brought ,John, home to his own house. He lived in his own house, sleeping in his own bed, eating at his own table, and being cared for by Theodore and Michael until Sept 25, 2016 when the stoke took him
John is preceded in death by his parents, brother Albert, sister Rosalie, son, Steven, and wife Colleen. He leaves behind his sister, Elosie, of Rochester IN, sons Eric [Diana], Theodore [Samorn}, Michael, numerous nephews, nieces, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
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