Dr. Edmond Francis Lawrence, 90, a native of Bessemer and a resident of Spanish Fort for the last 10 years, died Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009 at a local nursing facility.
He received his B.S. in geology from the University of Alabama, an M.S. from the University of California-Los Angeles and a PhD from the University of California-Riverside. His career as a consulting mining, exploration, and engineering geologist took him all over the world, but Nevada held his heart.
He taught geology at Perdue, University of California-Davis, University of California-Riverside, as well as, the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He was a member of the Geological Society of America for 50 years. Geology was not just a profession but his passion. He delighted in sharing his knowledge of and collection of “rocks” with school children around Baldwin County.
He was a member of Rotary International participating in chapters in Reno, Nev., Hot Springs, Ark., Birmingham, with the last being the Spanish Fort/Daphne Chapter. He was a Paul Harris Fellow.
He had a great love for wild flowers and plants. While living in Birmingham, he spent many hours working at The Birmingham Botanical Gardens creating the Sunny Bog and Upland Meadow Garden which was named for him. In conjuction with the Spanish Fort/Daphne Rotary Club, he worked with Daphne Middle School staff developing a butterfly garden.
He was a member of the Spanish Fort United Methodist Church where he served as an usher as long as his health allowed.
Survivors include his wife, Phyllis M. Lawrence of Spanish Fort; daughter, Mary Meith of Sacramento, Calif.; step-daughter, Connie (Stan) Cotton of Daphne; grandchildren, Ashley West of Atlanta and Layne (Susan) West of Charleston, S.C.; great-grandchildren, Reagan Olivia West, Drake Alexander West, both of Charleston, S.C.; sister, Evalyn Gladden of Brandon, Fla.; a niece and nephew.
Visitation begins at 1 p.m. with a memorial service at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8 at Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home, Daphne.
The family requests memorial donations be made to Covenant Hospice, 1040 Stanton Road, Suite D, Daphne, AL 36526; Westminster Village Foundation, 500 Spanish Fort Boulevard, Spanish Fort, AL 36527; or a charity of your choice.
Arrangements are by Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Homes & Crematory Inc., Daphne.
