Lawson, Wanda Susan Blevins

We had a visitor today, it was an angel…he took our Susan away.  She is missed by many and loved by all.

Wanda Susan (Blevins) Lawson was born on December 29, 1947.  She was the only child of German C. and Margaret (West) Blevins. She arrived just in time to be father’s “little tax deduction”!  When she was young she was just a little bit shy and timid, but she didn’t stay that way long.

Susan attended the local schools of Wiley and Reynolds. While attending Reynolds Senior High School she played the flute in the marching band and enjoyed her association in the G.A.A. (Girls Athletic Association). Susan graduated from Reynolds Senior High School in 1966.

She always wanted to be a school teacher. Education was very important to her and she furthered her education at East Carolina Teachers College (now East Carolina University) graduating in 1970 with a degree in elementary education.

Susan’s first teaching job was her only teaching location. She was at Clemmons Elementary School for 30 years. She taught second grade before having children of her own, then she taught fourth grade until her retirement in 2003. When you finished the grade level she taught, “you got the education commensurate with what you needed to know” to progress to the next grade level! Where would we be without our dedicated teachers?

Trinity United Methodist Church was Susan’s church home since childhood. She faithfully attended many activities throughout her life. She sang in the choir and participated in United Methodist Women events. For about fifteen years she really enjoyed singing and adding comic relief with the Morning Glories.

Susan was involved with Odyssey of the Mind for about 25 years. She grew her involvement from participation to be part of the governing body of N.C. Odyssey of the Mind at the regional and state level. She studied the particulars of the Odyssey problems so she could train the judges needed for competition. She was also chosen to attend the World Finals of Odyssey of the Mind for 12 years. She did quite a bit of traveling to attend World Finals in various locations (Boulder, Colorado; Ames, Iowa; East Lansing, Michigan; College Park, Maryland; and Knoxville, Tennessee).

Cancer is a terrible disease in all of its guises. Susan faced renal cell cancer and various treatments from 2004 to 2016.

Susan was preceded in death by both her mother and father. Susan was the mother of many each school year at Clemmons Elementary. She is survived by her husband Jerry of 44 years of marriage. Her children are Sheri Ober (Chris) of Maplewood, Minnesota, and Thad Lawson (Elizabeth) of Apex, North Carolina. You could not have ordered better children. She has four grandchildren; Jonathan Nicholas Ober of Minnesota, Benton Elizabeth Lawson, Rete Montgomery Lawson, and Collins Airlie Lawson of Apex, N.C.

Visitation was held Sunday, June 10, at Frank Vogler & Sons Funeral Home, 2849 Middlebrook Drive Clemmons, NC 27012. A celebration of life service was held Monday, June 11, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 3819 Country Club Road Winston-Salem, NC 27104. Burial followed at Westlawn Gardens of Memory 6135 Ridgecrest Point Winston-Salem, NC 27103.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Trinity United Methodist Church or Hospice of Forsyth County.