Mavis Lawrence

Mavis Lawrence was born July 22, 1929 in Clarendon, Jamaica to Augustus Gordon and Luxoria Cameron.  She had two sisters:  Pearl Allen (deceased) and Lorraine Williams of London, England. She moved to the United Kingdom in the early 50’s and married Benjamin Lawrence. Between them they had nine children: Ian Lawrence (Monica), Trevor Hemans, Una Ambrose (Rodney), Junior Lawrence, Jacqueline Notice (Horace), Errol Lawrence, Carol Costley (Jerry) and Mark Lawrence. They were also blessed with twelve grandchildren: Dwayne, Kari-Ann, Wesley, Justin, Lucy, Mark, Dean, Darren, Naomi, Amelia, Hannah and Emma, as well as ten great grandchildren: Jasmine, Miles, Sienna, Paris, Tia, Lila, Monet, Loren, CJ and Kae-Lyn.  In 1976 she immigrated with her husband to the United States.  Initially they lived in New York and they later retired to Florida. Mavis worked as a nurse in England and the United States for over four decades.  She was dedicated, conscientious and skilled at her job.  She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Central Florida.   Three years after the death of her husband, Benjamin Lawrence, in June of 2009, she relocated to live with her daughter’s family in Centerville, Utah.
In her early years she enjoyed line dancing, gardening, sewing, knitting, collecting porcelain dolls and attending the theatre.  She loved the Bible and read from it daily.  She loved animals and will be missed by her canine friends, Winter and Snowflake. When she moved to Utah she attended the First Southern Baptist Church where she enjoyed many relationships with members of her congregation. She was loved by those who knew her and she will be remembered for her kind and loving nature and her infectious smile.

She had planned and looked forward to a vacation with her family in the summer of 2015. While on this trip she visited Las Vegas, San Francisco and Monterey.  It was during this vacation that she succumbed to complications related to a diagnosis of terminal cancer.  Mavis expressed the joy that she was experiencing on the road trip with her family and friends. After arriving in Los Angeles, she became ill and passed away at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Baldwin Park, California. She was surrounded by family.        

She is preceded in death by her parents, husband and daughter, Pauline.  She is survived by eight children, twelve grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Funeral services and viewing will be held at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main Street, Bountiful, Utah.  The viewing time will be held on Wednesday, August 19, 2015 from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. Funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2015.