Marvin Eldon Lawson, 91, of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, passed away on August 25, 2022.
Marvin was born near Wasola, Missouri, on April 24, 1931. After his family finally moved to Oklahoma, Marvin graduated from Sapulpa High School with the class of 1950. He married his loving wife, Joan, in 1951 and they enjoyed their life together until her death in 2006.
Marvin is survived by five children (and their spouses): Gary Lawson (Tom), Diana Holton (Ron), Kevin Lawson (Kristine), Chris Lawson, and Annie Erickson (Rob). In addition, Marvin leaves behind 16 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren and a host of others he considered his own as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Marvin is preceded in death by his wife of over 50 years, Joan, parents: Olas and Elma. brothers: Troy and Earl and his grandson, Colby Simmons.
As a child, he was known to ride a horse to school. Along the way, he hunted squirrels, stopped by the post office to sell squirrels, and then headed to school. Summers he spent traveling around the United States harvesting wheat.
During his senior years of high school and after graduation, he worked at the original Frankoma Pottery for John Frank and was his right-hand man. Soon after, he helped build the great tower that stands to this day at Sun Oil in Tulsa. While at Sun, (DX Refinery), a work incident led to Marvin’s overalls being put on display at the Museum of Science and Industry. Chicago, IL., as an example of security. Marvin was a man of many talents, but his greatest talent was being a master mechanic. Throughout his adult life, he was a shop manager for Fieker American Motors, Standard Motor Supply and Kennedy Buick dealerships. In the early 1980’s, he was an Automotive Mechanics Instructor at Sapulpa High School and then became an Automotive Supervisor at the American Institute of Technology, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, teaching a total of 130 students while at AIT. When he stopped working in a shop, he set up his own “Marvin’s Tune Shop” in his garage and continued to work on vehicles until he “officially” retired; although he was never able to stop working on vehicles.
Marvin’s selfless community contributions involved numerous roles within the Sapulpa Public Schools system, including 59 years of service in the chain gang, Little League Baseball/Basketball/Girls Softball, Boy Scouts, and Sacred Heart Catholic Church. While at Sacred Heart, she was one of the founding members of the Charter Group that started the Sapulpa Chapter of the Knights of Columbus.
There will be a rosary service and gathering at the Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón in Sapulpa on Thursday, September 1 from 6-8 pm.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Church at 10 am, Friday, September 2, 2022. Burial will follow at Green Hill Memorial Cemetery.