Published: June 22, 2009 12:02 pm      

Lawleys observe golden wedding anniversary

To commemorate the golden wedding anniversary of Dr. Gary and Patricia Lawley, Anchorage, Alaska, a photograph was taken on the campus of East Central University where the couple first met.

Gary Green Lawley and Patricia Ann Thompson were married March 26, 1959, at Southwest Church of Christ in Ada, Oklahoma. Wayne Smethers, pastor, officiated.

Both are alumni of ECU which is observing its centennial anniversary this year. Mrs. Lawley majored in elementary education and worked in the Linscheid Library. Dr. Lawley attended East Central State College with a football scholarship and was recognized as an all-conference pass receiver. During the summers he worked as a smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service in Missoula, Mont.

Upon graduating from college, the couple moved to Pauls Valley, Okla., where Dr. Lawley was a biology teacher and began his coaching career. During his tenure at Pauls Valley, Lawley was the recipient of a stipend from the National Science Foundation and later received his master’s degree at the University of Oklahoma.

In 1963 the couple moved to Amarillo, Texas, where both were teachers in the Amarillo School system. Lawley coached the Amarillo High School Sandies to realize their first District 3-AAAA basketball championship since 1948 and was subsequently honored as Basketball Coach of the Year in 1967 by the Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame.

Their next move was to Denton, Texas, where Dr. Lawley completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree at North Texas University and Mrs. Lawley pursued graduate work at Texas Woman’s University. Dr. Lawley has since been employed by various environmental firms including Texas Instruments and Envirosphere and has served on the Regional Citizens Advisory Council for Prince William Sound. The family has resided in Texas, California, Washington, and Alaska. While teaching at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, Mrs. Lawley was honored by selection to Who’s Who in American Education.

Along with other retired smokejumpers, Dr. Lawley volunteers each summer with the National Smokejumper Association’s Trail Maintenance Program. Mrs.Lawley is a member of the Chimney Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and enjoys genealogical research and family history. The Lawleys are members of St. John’s Methodist Church in Anchorage, Alaska. They now divide their time between Tishomingo, Okla., and Anchorage.

The Lawleys have four children: Gary Gregory and wife, Amy Hayes Lawley of Anchorage, Alaska; Stephanie and husband, Kirk Waggoner of Anchorage, Alaska; Christa and husband, Tony Williams of Denver, Colorado; and Jay and wife Carolyn Salazar Lawley of Bellevue, Wash.. They have 11 grandchildren: Trevor, Meryl, Hilary and Tate Williams; Ashley, Sydnee and Ethan Waggoner; Marlee, Gannon and Toren Lawley; and Carissa Drey Allen.