Ann Becton Lawson
Ann Becton Lawson died peacefully on the morning of May 23, 2015, at her home at the Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community in Raleigh. She was 92.
Ann was born in Clinton, NC, and was adopted by E.J. and Katie Tull Becton of Kinston. She attended Peace College and the Hardbarger Business College in Raleigh. In 1943 she married Herman Dewey Lawson, a photographer and journalist who later became executive editor of the Smithfield Herald. Together they raised two children, Dewey and Debra, and remained happily together until Herman’s death in 2000.
Throughout her life, Ann was an unflaggingly gracious, curious and generous member of her community. She loved meeting people, and loved keeping up with the interests of her children and grandchildren; she enjoyed needlework and was an avid reader. She and her family were members of Centenary Methodist Church in Smithfield, where she was a trustee and leader of a United Methodist Women Circle. She contributed to her community through a range of volunteer involvements including work with a local hospice, bloodmobile, and a clinic for disabled children. She enjoyed visiting elderly neighbors and shut-ins, and was an active part of the social life at the Springmoor community in Raleigh, where she lived her final years.
Ann felt powerfully the love extended to her by her adoptive parents. When she was ten, her father, who worked in real estate, took her to the Lenoir County Register of Deeds office. There he showed her the official record of her adoption, telling her tearfully, “I wanted to show you my best transaction.” The experience led Ann and Herman to choose to expand their family through adoption as well, bringing infant Debra into their family when their son Dewey was four.
Many will continue to cherish fond memories of Ann, foremost among them the surviving members of her family: her son Dewey Lawson and daughter in law Elizabeth Booker Lawson of Durham; daughter Debra Lawson Emmons of Raleigh; grandchildren Alicia, Joanna, Jonathan, Lawson, Lindsay, Logan, Neal and Suzanne; and great-grandchildren Andrew, Booker, Cooper, Hannah, John Daniel, Luke, Lyla, Michaela, Molly, Olivia, Sadie, and Wes. Ann was preceded in death by her sister Alice Taylor, her husband Herman, Her brother Wilbur Becton, her son in law Jimmy Emmons, and her granddaughter Tracey Jones.
Her family expresses gratitude to Laura Gee, Jeannie Smith and the caregivers at Springmoor; and to Ruth Harwood, Ann’s close friend during the last months of her life.
A memorial service will be arranged through Cremation Society of the Carolinas in Raleigh.
In lieu of flowers, friends are invited to contribute to Stop Hunger Now (615 North Hillsborough St. Suite 200, Raleigh NC 27603), Centenary United Methodist Church (Smithfield), or the Springmoor Life Endowment Fund (Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community, 1500 Sawmill Road, Raleigh, NC 27615).
This story was originally published May 25, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Ann Becton Lawson."