Joseph D. Lawrence died March 23, 2020, the last member of his family line. Born March 27, 1936 to J. Don Lawrence and Christine Marie Schultz Lawrence, Joe was a fourth generation Ypsilantian and an only child. He enjoyed fishing with his father and best friend, who was an attorney, Chairman of the Board for the National Bank of Ypsilanti, and delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961. His mother taught piano, and Joe was an accomplished pianist.
Extremely bright, Joe’s love of learning was ignited at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He attended Princeton, where he sang with the Nassoons as a first tenor. During his time in the Nassoons, he was Musical Director his junior year, in which he led the group in recording the 1959 album on McCarter stage. He attended the "Frostbite Follies" Nassoons mini-reunion in Chicago. Richard Grieves '60 recalls about Joe: "Joe will be forever remembered by me for his white tennies which seemed to be the uniform of the day every day."
After Princeton, Joe then spent a year reading law at Brasenose College, University of Oxford, as a Rotary Foundation Fellow. Joe earned his law degree at the University of Michigan, where he sang with the Glee Club. He then joined the legal staff at the State University of New York, Brockport.
In his spare time he loved being the broadcast voice of the Golden Eagles hockey team, and became lifelong friends with legendary college hockey coach Don Murray and Canadian professional hockey coach Mike Keenan. After his father’s death, Joe returned to Ypsilanti to care for his mother. Joe began managing the family’s commercial real estate portfolio, adding several residential properties, and lovingly restoring them all. Friends claimed his philosophy as a landlord was “I dare you to rent from me,” but if accepted as a tenant you would be fortunate to live in a beautifully designed and well maintained space. Joe sang “a cappella” close harmony with the Grunyons of southeast Michigan, where he made more fast friends.
Joe loved cars and was a major business partner in the development of John Jones Automotive Group, selling Chevrolet and seven other brands in Salem, Corydon and Scottsburg, Indiana. In life, Joe was generous with his time and advice. In death he was financially generous to his community and his alma maters.
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