On Sunday morning June, 29th we said goodbye to not just a man, but truly a legend. Howard Lawrence passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. Howard began his life on a farm in Burlington, Ill. in the summer of 1935. He grew up as a farm boy and learned masonry skills as a teenager. In his early 20’s he moved out West for health reasons.
He settled in Tucson, Az. where he worked for a short time at Farmer John’s as a butcher. He then served as a Tucson Police officer. He left Tucson in 1963 and moved to Kingman, Az. to pursue his true passion of masonry work.
He was a master mason whose works can be seen throughout Kingman in walls, fireplaces, fishponds, homes and so much more. His work ethic earned him a colorful nick-name that “if you know, you know”. His masonry work though very impressive, is just the surface of this multifaceted man. He raised game birds of all kinds and his home made incubators were better than any store bought. He loved his fish and turtle ponds and in his later years would spend hours sitting by his pond, watching and feeding his fish.
He could grow almost anything in his gardens and his ability to graft trees was a sought after skill that he happily taught anyone that wanted to learn. He made excellent pecan caramel candy, pecan pies and smoked sausages of all kinds; he also canned the fruit from his trees and gardens. He made amazing pottery and even built his own wood fired kiln.
He had a huge passion for all things shooting. To say he was a wealth of knowledge about guns and ammo wouldn’t begin to do it justice. He was an outstanding shot with multiple calibers of both rifle and pistol. He was a great hunter and would hand butcher the animals he would harvest.
Howard was also involved with the community, he was a Boy Scout leader, a 4-H leader and played city softball. Howard was known mostly for his sense of humor. He was making people laugh all the way until his last days. BINGO will never be the same at the Gardens.
Off the top of his head he could tell you the incubation period of countless birds, the amount of concrete, dirt or blocks you would need for a job, the type of powder and the grains to almost any bullet, the year a caliber was first used, the time to start watering, or stop, the fertilizer mix for the perfect pecan tree and so much more.
Howard Lawrence was a true modern day Renaissance man. If you didn’t know him, find a Kingman local and I will bet they will. If you did know him, congratulations you knew one of our last great Icons.
Howard will be greatly missed by his large family and many friends. There will be a private memorial in the fall.
