1913 – 2004

FARMINGTON – Barbara Strong Cooley Lawrence, 90, of Pinewood Terraces, Farmington, died Friday, Feb. 20, at Sandy River Center for Health Care, Farmington.

She was born Sept. 5, 1913, in Merion, Penn., the daughter of Theodore and Freda Weeks Cooley. She was a 1935 graduate of Oberlin College and in 1937 married H. E. Lawrence, a classmate at Oberlin. In 1947, the Lawrences moved to Concord, N.H., where Dr. Lawrence established his practice.

In addition to rearing four daughters, Mrs. Lawrence found time for numerous volunteer activities, including the Girl Scouts, the PTA, the Audubon Society, the League of Women Voters, the New Hampshire Historical Society, the Concord Hospital Gift Shop, the Rolf and Rumford Home, and the American Red Cross, among others.

She enjoyed bird watching and photography and won numerous awards from the Concord Camera Club.

She was a member of South Congregational Church, Concord, N.H., and in recent years was a member of Union Church, UMC, Belgrade Lakes.

The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce honored Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence in 1966 with the Outstanding Service Award, given in recognition of their volunteer service at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelle, Haiti. The Lawrences also volunteered their services at a hospital on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Tuba City, Ariz.

Mrs. Lawrence was employed by St. Paul’s School and the Concord Hospital.

She is survived by her sister, Patricia McGraw of Plattsburg, N.Y.; four daughters, Annette Backus of Farmington, Priscilla Kingsley of Oxnard, Calif., Bonnie Lawrence of Greensboro, N.C., and Betsy Lawrence of Colchester, Vt.; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and eight nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, H.E. Lawrence; a sister, Charlotte Burrows; and a brother, Paul Cooley.


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