SUZANNE E. LAWSON
Suzanne E. Lawson, of Ossineke, passed away in the presence of family on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the age of 86. Suzanne was born on March 23, 1936, in Toledo, Ohio, to Carl and Elsie (Cowdrey) Riedeman. She was a graduate of Waite High School and the University of Toledo. Marrying Howard R. Lawson of Dowagiac, Michigan, in 1959, she spent the next thirty-nine years of her life as a public school teacher in southern Michigan — mostly in Lansing — though she always spent much of every year at the family home on the shores of Lake Huron in Sanborn Township, until her full-time residence there after retirement in 1998. She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard, brothers Carl and Hal, and sister Marian. She is survived by her son, Eric B. Lawson of Ossineke–father of granddaughters Elisabeth and Jane Lawson–and son Rob A. Lawson and wife Caroline A. Lawson of Bellingham, Massachusetts., and Ossineke, as well as five nieces and nephews.
Suzanne–Sue to family and friends–had a rich life and loved living in the woods by the lakeshore. She enjoyed many avocations including reading, cooking with family, gardening, languages, word games, and birding–and spending as much time as possible with her granddaughters. She was an avid volunteer in the community. During the last twenty years of her life, she realized her long-held dreams of travel, visiting many countries in Europe as well as China and Hawai’i. Due to family connections, she had a life-long affinity for New England. She was absolutely passionate about jazz music, as well as being a pet-owner; there was hardly a year in her life that she didn’t have an animal companion (or two or three).
Family and friends are invited to visitation hours at McWilliams Funeral Home at 504 W. Washington Ave. in Alpena from 4-8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13. Visitation resumes on Tues., Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. at Hope Lutheran Church, 5462 Nicholson Hill Rd. in Hubbard Lake, followed by a funeral service at the church at 11 a.m., with luncheon to follow.
In lieu of flowers, friends and family of Suzanne are invited to consider donations to the following organizations that were important to her: Alpena Symphony Orchestra, Huron Humane Society, and Friends Together.