JACQUELINE S. LAWTON

Palmer resident Jacqueline S. Lawton, 75, died of liver cancer April 10, 2005, at her home.

A closed-casket funeral service will be held at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, April 16, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Palmer. Pastor Carol George will officiate and pallbearers will be Ian Lawton, Jon M. Lawton, Mark Ingrim, Timothy Frohe, Richard Goodwin and Paul Krauszer. Burial will follow at Palmer Pioneer Cemetery.

Mrs. Lawton was born Jan. 24, 1930, in Bohemia, N.Y. She graduated as valedictorian from Sayville High School. She graduated cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from William Smith College and then received a master of arts degree in English from Columbia University.

She moved to Point Hope in 1959 and resided there until 1965. She lived in Kotzebue from 1976 to 1980 and Anchorage from 1980 to 1993. In 1993, she made Palmer her home.

She taught the 12th grade in New York state at Bloomfield from 1952 to 1953, taught English in Winchester and Lexington, Mass., from 1954 to 1956 and in Romulus, N.Y., in 1958. In 1959, she was a missionary at St. Thomas Mission and a substitute teacher in the Bureau of Indian Affairs school in Point Hope. In 1968, she taught English in Winchester, Va. She taught for 20 years in Alaska, in Point Hope, Kotzebue and Anchorage.

She retired from Wendler Middle School, Anchorage School District, in 1994. She was affiliated with the Episcopal church, the Church of the Epiphany from 1955 to 1965, was director of church school in Winchester, Mass., and attended Trinity Lutheran Church in Palmer.

She enjoyed painting, pillow making, singing in college and church choirs, hiking, camping and

traveling.

Her family wrote, "She was strong in her Christian faith, an avid reader of the Bible and classic literature, an excellent cook with many unique recipes, a very loving, caring woman who always sought to do her very best.

"She enjoyed teaching baton twirling to others and had been a drum major in her high school days. She enjoyed writing poetry and some short biographies of her pets, cats in particular.

"She collected different types of baskets and was an excellent gardener. She had a jungle of houseplants and a 20-foot-tall avocado tree. She loved watching her bird and squirrel friends and was a loving teacher to her grandchildren.

"She was a sincere loving person and a fantastic wife and partner to her husband. Her life was teaching and sharing thoughts of value. Her students truly loved her. She was an exceptional teacher of English and life."

Her mother and father, Anna and William E. Stochl, preceded her in death.

She is survived by her husband, John Keith Lawton of Palmer; sons, Ian Scott Lawton of Sumerduck, Va., and Jon Mark Thomas Lawton of Palmer; daughters and sons-in-law, Andrea and Mark Ingrim of Wasilla and LeAnne Faith and Tim Tancred of Powder Springs, Ga.; aunt, Gladys Smith of Bohemia, N.Y.; cousins, Judy King of Patchogue, N.Y., and Fred Smith of Coram, N.Y., Joyce and her husband, Andy Moerland, of Cos Cob, Conn., and 11 grandchildren.

Donations may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, 10355 Palmer-Wasilla Hwy., Palmer, AK 99645. Arrangements are with Valley Funeral Home & Crematory in Wasilla.