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JAMES NORMAN
LAWHORN – 95 - Lawhorn Drug Store
HAINES CITY
- James Norman "Skip" Lawhorn, known to everyone as Skip, died
of natural causes peacefully on the morning of July 27, 2013, and went
to his heavenly home. Skip spent most of his 951/2 years in Haines
City, a town he loved. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he moved
with his parents, Evan and Eva Lawhorn, and his two
brothers, Irven and Stanford, to Haines City at the age of 3.
He attended the
University of Florida but, like many young men, left school to serve
his country during WWII. In
1942, he married his high school sweetheart, Margaret
Elizabeth Wieberg of Lake Hamilton, before being shipped overseas.
Skip was a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army and worked in triage
hospitals in France. He received the Bronze Star for his service.
After his return,
Skip began Lawhorn Drug Stores with his two brothers and father.
He and brother Irven owned Lawhorn's Corner Drug, which became a local
icon and famous for their "slawburgers", a recipe kept secret even to
this day. Skip was an active civic leader
in the Haines City community. He was a founding member of the Haines
City chapter of Rotary International and a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow,
the highest honor bestowed in Rotary. He served on the Haines City
Citrus Growers Board of Directors for 16 years, the Haines City
Planning Commission, and was elected a City Commissioner. He
was President of the Chamber of Commerce. While these public roles
reflect his qualities as both leader and servant, he most enjoyed
helping people behind the scenes, such as teaching people to sign their
paychecks and opening the drug store in the middle of the night to get
medicine for someone in need. He was a master storyteller and his humor
was a powerful healing instrument. He served many years in the First
Presbyterian Church of Haines City in various capacities and led the
building campaign for the new church at its current location. He met
his second wife, Doris Way, during this time and they
spent 13 years of contentment together. Those close to Skip will know
him as an eternal optimist, mediator, facilitator, and jokester. He was
generous and giving to his family and community and loved by many. He
possessed a mischievous spirit up to the very end of his life. He was a
thoughtful husband, supportive and fun father, a proud grandfather and
great grandfather. He was an avid sports fan, a lover of swing music
and the jitterbug. He was preceded in death by his first wife Margaret
and his brothers Irven and Stan.
He is survived by
his second wife, Doris; his daughters, Diane McLean and Celia Lawren
and son-in-law Richard McLean; his grandchildren Stephen and Erin
Owens, Matthew and Taryn McLean, Megan and Michael Weaver; great
grandchildren Andrew, Evan and Helen Owens, Will, Kate, and Elizabeth
McLean; nephews Keith Lawhorn and Dr. Tom Lawhorn; and great nephews
Keith, Tim, Glenn and Kyle Lawhorn.
A gathering of
friends will be Tuesday at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, Haines City, and on
Wednesday, July 31, 2013 until the funeral service at 11 am at the
First Presbyterian Church, 104 Scenic Highway, Haines City, FL.
In lieu of flowers
donations may be made to the Building Fund of First Presbyterian
Church. - Ledger, July 31,
2013
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