Randell G Lawson (Lebanon)'s Obituary
Randell Gene Lawson was born at home on a stormy night on April 1, 1951 in the High Point community of Washington County, Missouri to Donald and Modell Collins Lawson. He lived his childhood in Hopewell where there was a store, roller rink, spring, railroad tracks, creek, and the school. His parents owned the country store where all the kids ran freely and drank “sody pop” and ate candy. He and his seven brothers and sisters would fiercely protect each other in this rowdy neighborhood full of life long friends, childhood joy and endless shenanigans.
He loved his grandparents, Ellen and Homer Whitt, and he would spend weekends with them hunting, fishing, going to church, visiting neighbors and learning from the “old mens and women” in the community. His grandma would cook for him and his brother, Donnie, and his grandpa in the middle of the night when they’d return from coon hunting. His grandpa introduced him to chewing tobacco at an early age, as often happened with grandpas of the time. Randell learned to love nature, animals, and old time ways of farming and homesteading from his grandparents and forever loved that time with them.
Randell left school at age 16 and went to work in St. Louis getting his first job as a window washer in downtown St. Louis. After that, he went to work in the shipping department at Brown Shoe Company. He wondered if the shoes ever found their way to the stores as he was the one addressing the boxes. When he turned 18, he went to work at Chrysler Motors where he worked for three years until he was fired after he led an unofficial strike due to injustice towards a coworker. He always said he was glad he was fired and didn’t spend 30 years there. In 1972, he joined the Laborer’s International Union and began working in the highway construction industry in the St. Louis area. Over the years, he worked on many of the highways and bridges including Interstates 44, 55, 270 and 67 with his favorite project being Highway 21 where he did much of the drilling, blasting, grade checking and paving. Randell worked hard and played hard. In the fall, he happily took layoff so he could spend the winter hunting and fishing. But when spring weather came around, it was back to work on the highways. He was proud of his work on those projects and was well known in the construction industry where he made many friends.
Randell was a lifelong storyteller and most of the stories were based on the truth with embellishments to make them more interesting. Occasionally his stories seemed impossible, but were the way they really happened. He was known to leave out parts that might not reflect well on him, but his family and friends always called him out on those embarrassing stories and set it right. He loved telling stories around the campfire to the children of his friends. One of the favorite stories was “Oh, Eaters of the Creatures of the Creek'' which would change each time he told it. He also recruited his young friends to help him with his troll problems. They would happily agree to be troll bait on dark nights to help Randell catch that pesky troll that had been sneaking around outside the house. After a bit of time, Randell would tell his trusting accomplice to come back inside and they’d try again another day. He had several young friends who meant a lot to him and gave him enjoyment watching them grow up over the years.
Randell loved to hunt and fish and took every opportunity to do so with the very minimum tackle or firearm to do the job. He had a natural instinct for shooting and enjoyed going to shooting matches with his break-down shotgun or trusty .22. The last deer he took in 2018 fell in its tracks as a testament to his skill. His very favorite thing was to fish for largemouth bass, and he said that it was more exciting than taking a deer. As soon as a weather fronts came through in the spring, you would find him headed to his favorite pond or lake to catch a bass. On one outing, he caught a 7 lb and 10 lb bass in one day.
Randell and Lynna met briefly in December 1981 and he said he knew the minute he saw her, she was for him. When they met again a year later, he suggested they get married and in a few months, she decided he was serious and that it was a good idea. On June 30, 1984 he and Lynna were married. They met through his sister, Vickie, who entrusted Lynna to take good care of him. She was his protector and supporter and he was her biggest fan.
They lived in the Hopewell community on the place Randell bought in 1978 that he called his “grub stake” where he built a basement home and in 1990 they had a house built on it without arguing. They enjoyed great days there with many gatherings of friends. In 2011, they moved to where Lynna grew up in the Falcon community so she could support her family. Randell’s health had declined and he learned in 2015 he had a disease that causes Alzheimer's which took away his ability to fish and hunt and tell stories even though he still had the desire. Lynna cared for him through the good times and the bad, never giving up on him.
Randell is survived by Lynna Lawson, his wife, of Falcon; brothers Donnie and Sherry Lawson of Denver, Colorado; Rodney Lawson of Springfield; Bryan and Debbie Lawson of Mineral Point; Sister Vickie and Bill Johnson of St. Louis. Brothers in law Dean Bowles, Park Hills, and Jimmy Belfield, Potosi; Lincoln and Lori Ruble, Falcon; and sister in law Marcia Lawson of Springfield and mother in law, Mary Ruble of Falcon. Survivors also include several nieces, nephews, cousins, and a host of treasured friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Modell Lawson; beloved grandparents, Ellen and Homer Whitt; sisters Carolyn Bowles and Diane Belfield, brother, Dennis Lawson, niece Pam Bowles Dudley and nephew, James D. Belfield and father in law, Leo J. Ruble.
Randell was raised in the Pentecostal faith and was saved in his youth. He will be forever remembered by those who knew and loved him.
The family requests that in Randell's memory you would consider donating books to your local youth reading program or giving your time to tutor those in need of reading assistance.
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