10/31/07 - NNHS Newsletter - Bill Lawson

William Edward Lawson, Jr.
(d. 28 Oct 2007)

Newport News High School Class of 1940

"He had to manage that process, and he did a good job," Haskins said. "We got a tremendous return on our investment."

Lawson's tenure wasn't without controversy. The City Council asked him to resign in 1976, following Lawson's ouster of a police chief and an assistant city manager. Though the moves were Lawson's prerogative, some on the City Council were miffed he didn't run it by them first.

Haskins was one of the council members who asked for Lawson's resignation, but Haskins said Lawson never held a grudge. The two lived near each other in the Hidenwood section, and they spoke when they saw each other.

"He was a wonderful person, as good a guy as you are ever going to meet," Haskins said. The past dispute "had nothing to do with to do with his individual character. I just disagreed with him on certain things with the city."

Aubrey Fitzgerald, who served on the City Council for 18 years, remembers Lawson being "a fine person, a very effective city manager, and most people liked him."

Fitzgerald, who was new to the council at the time, said Lawson helped her understand the City Council's inner workings.

Lawson, the son of a longtime Newport News Shipbuilding employee, attended Newport News High School and Virginia Military Institute. He served in the Army during World War II and spent time with the Army's Counterintelligence Corps. A certified professional engineer, he also was the city manager in Buena Vista in west central Virginia, Delray Beach, Fla., and St. Augustine, Fla.

He came to Newport News in 1962 to become director of the city's public works department. When he became city manager in 1965, Mayor Donald Hyatt said the fact that Lawson was born and bred here "gives him a familiarity with the broader Peninsula picture that only comes with years of residency." While in his office, Lawson kept his name in the telephone directory and would answer calls from citizens.

After his tenure ended 11 years later, Lawson worked as a private real estate broker and with the Salvation Army and area library boards. He often spent time woodworking, playing pool at home and cooking lasagna and chili. His first wife, Ann Weston Lawson, died in the late 1980s. The couple had two children, Deborah Lawson and William E. Lawson III.

His second wife, Audre Sharpe Lawson, got reacquainted with Lawson after running into him at their 50-year high school reunion in early 1990. They were married in late 1991. They spent time traveling to Europe, Costa Rica and around the United States, she said, and "he always wanted to make sure he knew what was going on" with city government.

Lawson hardly ever got sick, she said, and would never complain about his health. But in recent years, Audre Lawson noticed he would sit on a bench to take a breather while they were out shopping. "He just said 'I'll catch up with you,' and I'd go ahead and do the shopping," she said. "He always was a perfect gentleman."

A month ago, Lawson moved to the James River Convalescent Home. He died of heart problems, Audre Lawson said.

"His heart just gave out," she said Monday. "Nobody really thought he'd die. I most of all."

Visitation for Lawson will be held Friday at the W.J. Smith Funeral Home, on Harpersville Road, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the North Riverside Baptist Church, with burial service at Peninsula Memorial Park.

Copyright © 2007, Newport News, Va., Daily Press

Published in the Daily Press on 10/31/2007.
Guest Book