Obituary

Lawrence, Alvin Lee (Pete)

Alvin Lee "Pete" Lawrence, age 86, of Plainview, went home to be with his beloved Jean on August 3, 2016. He passed peacefully at Hospice Austin's Christopher House in Austin, Texas.

There will be a memorial service held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, 2016 at Lemons Memorial Chapel in Plainview Texas. Arrangements are by Lemons Funeral Home.

He was born February 20, 1930, to John Albert Lee Lawrence and Mary Truitt Lawrence in El Campo, Texas. He was preceded in death by his wife, Juanita Jeanine "Jean" Canady Lawrence; his parents; and 10 siblings.

Pete is survived by his four children and their spouses: Karen and Ricky Barnhart of Hardin, Texas; Patsy Johnson and husband Jay of Austin, Texas; Steven Lawrence and wife Kathy of Porter, Texas; and Michael Lawrence and wife Pamela of Houston, Texas; 13 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; 7 great-great grandchildren; and his very caring and supportive friends.

His early years were spent in Victoria, Texas. Being the youngest of the children, his brothers, Luke and Ernest, and sisters, Pearl and Myrtle, assisted in rearing him. Pete worked at the Crescent Valley Creamery and had his own delivery route at fifteen. He moved to Houston in 1946, but returned to Victoria to marry Vivian Blanton in 1947. They had three children; Karen, Steve and Mike. Pete worked as a welder building barges, on off shore oil rigs in the Gulf, and in the oil patch. He and Vivian were divorced in 1955. Vivian died in 2015. He loved all his children and especially cherished the time he spent rearing his boys.

He met and married Jean Canady in Houston in 1969. They moved to Plainview in 1970 where they maintained a home. Any spare time was spent searching out and exploring old ghost towns. They loved the Jicarilla Mountains in New Mexico where he panned for gold and explored many old mines. He was an avid reader of Texas history and the old west. He knew all about guns and repaired old ones the kids and friends brought to him. He made unique knives for his boys. He loved animals and always had pets.

When asked how he came to be in Plainview, he would always say, "it was for the love of a woman. Nothing else would have brought him there." He lost Jean in 1990, and he said a day never went by that he did not miss her.

He retired after 22 years as the Maintenance Shop Manager at Xcel Meat Packing Company in 1995. Until his health declined, he spent time with friends and traveled to visit his family and historic sites in Texas. He had some special friends who looked out for him: Lawrence Hughes; his neighbors; Dorothy and the ladies at the Nu-Griddle; and all his friends he worked with at Excel.

If asked to describe himself, Pete would have handed you his calling card which read:
Pete Lawrence
Historian ? Prospector Extraordinaire ? Collector