Patricia Lynne Lawrence

Patricia Lynne Lawrence was born on December 25, 1956, to Lilian Ruth Howton and Robert Eugene Howton in Granite City, Illinois. She was raised by her parents, along with Karon Lee Howton, after her mother passed away in 1961. Patricia was called home on September 16, 2021, to her parents, Karon, and father to her children, Tracy Lawrence, who preceded her in death. Pat is survived by her sisters, Lori Howton Davis (Ken) and Gina Howton Trebing (Kent), as well as her three daughters, Christina Lawrence (Shawn), Michele Lawrence, and Tiffany Pennington (Dustan); grandchildren, Victoria Bragg, Kory Lawrence (Julia), Kylee Lawrence, Taylor Webber (Cody), Dalilah Pennington, Blaydan Pennington, Ava Venegas, Abigail Pennington, and Skylar Pennington, along with several loved nieces, one nephew, great-nieces and great-nephews, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Pat grew up alongside her sisters, Lori and Gina, in Collinsville, Illinois. The three girls enjoyed playing cards, board games and listening to Motown music, The Jackson Five, and The Beatles. Karon made sure they all knew how to dance. Pat was also an accomplished alto saxophone player in the high school band. Musicals were a big hit in the family, and Pat loved White Christmas and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The girls rode bikes a lot, but Pat and her sisters were lucky enough when they were children to have ponies to ride as well. Pat was an active member of AA, celebrating 17 years of sobriety this past April. She loved being a part of the AA community and volunteering her time to help others with the same troubles she faced years ago. She met many lifelong friends through AA who became like family. Anyone who knew her as she aged, knew that she loved to do anything that kept her hands busy. She loved making crafts for holidays, knitting hats, scarves and blankets as gifts for the family, or was always the first call whenever anything needed re-stitched or fixed. Often, if you caught her at home, she was most likely lying in bed with her Kindle in her hand reading whatever new book she got that week, especially if it was a murder mystery. She could never put those down. Pat loved watching sports and supporting her family in the sports that they played. She watched all of her daughters play soccer and continued with watching her grandchildren play. No sport or event was ever too small. If her family loved to do it, she would make sure she was on the sidelines cheering them on. One sport her family did not play was football, but she was an avid Patriots fan until a few weeks ago, when she informed her family that she is now a Buccaneers fan; so it seemed like she was more of a Tom Brady fan. Holidays and birthdays were always Pat’s favorite time of year, especially since she was a Christmas baby. She always wanted everyone to feel special on their birthdays and she always spent hours before Thanksgiving and Christmas making treats for the family gatherings. Since she had such a big sweet tooth, we all know that she enjoyed these treats as well. Her family can remember waking up Christmas morning excited to open gifts, but the only rule Pat had was that they could not open gifts until her cup of Folger’s coffee was in her hand. At one of her final Christmas Eves, she gathered the family around her to read “Twas’ the Night Before Christmas” and had planned to make it a tradition to read it every year. Her family will always cherish the memories and time that they had with her, as she brought so much laughter into every situation with her witty comments. Pat had many titles that made her the woman she was, but Mom, Sister, Aunt, GiGi, and Grandma were some of her favorites as family was the most important thing to her. She truly knew that the little things in life were what mattered, a lesson that will forever be shared and remembered.