Patricia A. Lawson

EAST BARRE - Patricia Ann “Patti” Lawson, 76, a lifetime resident, passed away Sunday, December 18, 2022, with her husband of 57 years by her side, following a hard-fought battle with metastatic breast cancer.

Born on August 29, 1946, in Barre, she was the daughter of Bernal and Alice (Cameron) Lord.

She attended East Barre school and graduated from Spaulding High school in 1964. After a brief time at National Life, she worked for the family business, Lord and Sons Excavating, as office manager. Patti was proudly one of the only women working in the construction business at that time. She worked a short time at Reynolds and Sons and returned to construction as the office manager for Capital Earth Moving. “Office manager” does not sum up the scope and impact of Patti’s work. She was an accountant, a keeper of schedules, a reminder of birthdays, the eternal optimist and meticulous planner who had a wealth of knowledge about the construction world.

Patti and Arnold first met in East Barre at Pilgrim Fellowship church youth group in 1958. Two years later Arnold helped her with groceries she had dropped on the way home from East Barre Market.  They married July 3, 1965, at the East Barre Congregational Church.  Patti loved growing up and raising her family in East Barre. She valued the small, multi-generational community and looked forward to the Father’s Day Chicken Bar-B-Q, neighborhood summer parties, and was active on the church board for many years. Every Christmas Eve Patti and her family would decorate the church and much of East Barre with luminaires, bringing light to the entire neighborhood.

Survivors include her husband Arnold Lawson of Barre; her son Troy and his partner, Maria Rossi of Montpelier; her daughter Teddie and her fiancé, Normand Fortier of Williamstown; her grandchildren Shelby (Lawson) Berube and her husband, Jake of Kittery, Maine; Cameron Lawson and his fiancé, Taylor Judkins of Morristown; Justin Lawson, Kyle and Brennan Duff all of Williamstown and Liam and Ruthie Noyes both of Montpelier, as well as her great-grandchildren Isabelle and Oliver Lawson.  Patti was fiercely proud of her family. Her grandchildren were her greatest joys, even in her final days phone calls and visits from them brought smiles.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her brothers and sisters-in-law Robert and Shirly Lord, and Richard and Beverly Lord as well as her niece Robin Lord.

One of Patti’s gifts was her ability to love without conditions or judgements. She was able to see the best in people and encourage them to be their best. Generations of people benefited from her love. She was surrogate mother and grandmother, and a dear friend to many. She stayed in touch with friends and family around the country and was the family matriarch.  She will be dearly missed.

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to those who took care of Patti and were with us on this journey. Thank you to the palliative care team at Central Vermont Medical Center for their kindness and guidance. Thank you to the guardian angels at Berlin Health and Rehabilitation and Barre Gardens who made both Patti and Arnold feel so cared for.

The service to honor and celebrate her life will be held on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 11:00 in the Christ Community Alliance Church (formerly the East Barre Congregational Church) in East Barre.  There are no calling hours.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Christ Community Alliance Church, 2 Church Street, East Barre, VT  05649.