DOD 02-14-2012

Roger D. Lawrence

Posted: February 19, 2012 - 8:00 am

 

 

Roger D. Lawrence, 64, of McComb, died Feb. 14, 2012, at Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center.

Visitation is 2 p.m. today at Hartman-Sharkey Funeral Home in McComb until services there at 4, with the Rev. Donald Dick officiating.

Mr. Lawrence was born Aug. 31, 1947, in McComb, the son of Ray D. Lawrence and Mary Myers Lawrence.   

He was a well-known art teacher and artist. He was a member of Enon Pine Lodge No. 383 F&AM and was a U.S. Army Veteran.

Mr. Lawrence was preceded in death by his parents and two nephews, Scott McKenzie and Sammy Lawrence.

Survivors include a brother and sister-in-law, Gerald and Barbara Lawrence of Enon; a sister and brother-in-law, Melba and Willard McKenzie of McComb; two nephews and their wives, Steve and Anna Lawrence of Enon and Mark and Susanne McKenzie of Killeen, Texas; two nieces, Dawn Hoots of Enon and Dawn McKenzie of McComb; an uncle, Rod Lawrence of Burbank, Calif.; an aunt, Jane Brumfield of Progress; and numerous cousins, other family and friends.

The family would like to thank the staff of Courtyard Rehabilitation and Healthcare and the ICU nursing staff at SMRMC for their loving and professional care. The family requests memorials be sent to The ALS Association Development Department, 27001 Agoura Road, Suite 250 Calabasas Hills, CA 91301, or you may  donate by phone at (888) 949-2577.

Share condolences online at Hartman-Sharkeyfuneralhome.com.

 

THE ENTERPRISE-JOURNAL 02-15-2012

  Lawrence was born Aug. 31, 1947, in McComb.

He was a gifted artist and instructor who taught many artistically inclined people in southwest Mississippi to hone their skills with the brush.

“He’s the reason I paint today,” said painter and former student Sylvia Burrow. “I spent hours with him and I treasure every minute. He was so patient, and I still hear his voice every minute that I paint.

“He had a remarkable talent he had an eye and he could really see. He could work in any medium a student worked with.

“He didn’t have to have an object to paint. He had so many images that were present in his mind,” Burrow said. “He had the ability to see things that most of us do not see, and once the images in his mind were always present, he could never turn them off.”

Some of Lawrence’s students found him incapacitated in his home in May 2010, and he was hospitalized and diagnosed with the neurological disorder Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Lawrence often depended on the sales of his artwork to support himself financially, and when he became ill, that was no longer an option. His friends had prints of his most well known works made and sold them en masse as a fundraiser for the ailing artist.

In November 2010, fellow McComb artist and pianist Dub Brock — whose stage name is Bobby Lounge — put on a benefit concert for Lawrence that filled the State Theater in downtown McComb.

Lawrence loved nature and often depicted it in his works, which highlighted the beauty of places such as Horn Island, the Bogue Chitto River and Topisaw Creek, to name a few.

“He was one of the best artists in this part of the country,” said Lynn Wells, owner of Gulf/South Art Gallery in McComb. “He was a great teacher, and taught children and adults. He was a great influence on them. He was a great artist and a great friend. ... He was one of the best friends I had, and he will really be missed.”

Lawrence also was a talented drummer and on many occasions provided the backbeat for talented musicians such as “Byrd” Lovell and Todd Easley. He taught drum lessons at his home, but his artwork always overshadowed his musical talent.

“I was always amazed at his range of intelligence. He was an avid reader and an authority on so many things other than just his art,” Burrow said.

Robbin Daughdrill of Japonica Art Gallery told the Enterprise-Journal in 2010 that Lawrence has had a huge impact on the area’s art scene.

“I don’t think there’ll be another one anywhere close that we’ll ever be touched by,” she said. “His mediums are just unlimited, which is not a natural thing. ... He is indescribable — he is. As any artist, he never finished a piece. Of course, to our eyes, it was always incredibly finished.”