Dawson Lawrie
Dawson Keiss Lawrie passed away peacefully on Thursday, May 4, 2017, in Asheville, NC.
She was preceded in death by her parents, William Alexander and Barbara Earl Keiss of Lookout Mountain. Dawson was born Sept. 29, 1954, at General Hospital in New York City. She liked to say it was THE General Hospital. After graduating from Girl's Preparatory School in Chattanooga, in 1972, she went on to gain her undergraduate degree from Earlham College in Richmond, In., and her graduate degree from The University of Georgia. Later on she obtained an additional undergraduate degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. Dawson met her husband, Jon, in San Francisco, where they began a life filled with travel, adventure and continual learning. Living in several US cities and Amsterdam, they eventually made their home in Asheville, NC, with their boys Roger and Jackson. She enjoyed successful careers as a Biotechnologist, Landscape Architect, and Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor. While in high school, through no fault of her own, she was involved in an automobile accident which left her to face many persistent health challenges through the years. She refused to let those challenges define her and she fought courageously to live life on her own terms. Her motto was "don't give up until you don't have any other options".
She was supported and loved by her husband, Jonathon Michael Lawrie and cherished sons, Roger Duval Lawrie and Jackson Alexander Lawrie, of Asheville, NC. She is also survived by a large extended family of Lawries, Keisses, Smiths, Moores, McCartys, Kritzers, Kirkwoods, Eberles, Speys, Owenses, and Horstes, along with many friends who loved and held Dawson up in her times of need.
A celebration of Dawson's life will be held at a later date.
The family suggests, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dawson's memory to Earlham College, 801 National Road West, Richmond, IN 47374.