Thomas Henry Lawson, Jr.

After many years of writing letters to the editor, this will be my final one to you. The dear Lord decided it was finally time for me, on the morning of July 8, 2022, to be reunited with my parents, sisters, and my son and namesake, Tom III.

I have lived a full and blessed life of 96 years. A Baltimore native, I grew up the middle child of Thomas and Marie (Shallenberger) Lawson in the Rodgers Forge area. When I was 15 years old, my mother gave this advice: “whenever you run into a problem and are questioned, take a chance and tell the truth.” This has been my mantra throughout my whole life.

I attended Baltimore Polytechnic for high school, and then served two years in the Army Air Corps from 1945-46, including thirteen months in Naples, Italy as a radio mechanic. When the war was over, I got a three-day pass and went to Rome – a city not touched by war. I went to Mass at Saint Peter’s. The next day, I toured the Vatican. When I got to the Sistine Chapel, the first person I saw was Pope Pius XII. He called me and my fellow servicemen over. I kissed his ring, and he blessed a Padre Pio medal I had on. I wore it around my neck until the day I died.

After the war ended, I attended Loyola College, graduating in 1950 as an accounting major and later pursuing an advanced degree in psychology at Emory University. I was employed for 37 years at Commercial Credit Business Loans, Inc. (later sold to Citigroup) in downtown Baltimore, where I started as a business finance auditor and worked my way up until I eventually became President. I traveled extensively for work, speaking at conferences and events. Some called me an investment genius and, up until the week of my death, I spoke on a weekly call with my broker, and regularly maintained and monitored the accounts of my children.

As a corporate executive, I served on several boards and committees and as an advisor/volunteer to many organizations, including Maryvale Preparatory School, the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart, the Loyola College Committee of 100, the Baltimore Reading Radio and the National Commercial Finance Conference.

I met my wife of almost 70 years, Marge, in 1950 when she worked in the secretarial pool of my company. Marge was an incredible beauty, devout Catholic and kind-hearted person who loved to laugh. Quickly recognizing a good find when I had one, we married in November of 1952. Marge was my rock: my constant companion, my caretaker and the glue that held the Lawson clan together. My most-used phrase from wherever I was at any given time was “Margeeeeeee!”

I like to remind people that we had a total of $26 in our bank account when we started our family. We were blessed with seven children, Tom, Mike, Greg, Mark, Barbara, Peggy and Peter. I wasn’t a warm and fuzzy father type or a hugger. I showed my appreciation by gifting stock. And by sending a weekly “ranking” report to my children. Mike and Barbara usually landed near the top of the list.

I instilled in them the values of education, working hard, family and a love of sports. One of my favorite memories was having my sons Greg and Mike play in the state baseball Little League championship when they were 13 and 14 years old. Out of 206 teams that year, we finished in the top four. To me, that was an absolute win.

I kept the spirit of healthy competition alive in my grandchildren. My seven children blessed me with 26 grandchildren: Jennifer, Michael, Julia, John, Jay, Cameron, Jordan, Ben, Joe, Seth, Maria, Nick, Heather, Lauren, Maddy, Stephen, John, Joe, Paige, Sara, Clare, Luke, Bryce, Esther, Anaisha and Michael, and to date, 17 great grandchildren. I kept tabs on my grandchildren through their report cards and made my presence known at Grandparents Day and sports games. As my golf buddies from Towson Golf and Country Club (Eagle’s Nest) can attest, my grandkids are the smartest and most successful medical practitioners, lawyers, students and businessmen and women.

In my retirement years, the racetrack was a favorite pastime and they held the same “table for Tom” twice a week, every week. It was always fun to see my kids stop by, especially after they won and let me cash their tickets for a small fee.

Although Mike Preston, Peter Schmuck and Dan Connolly will no longer be receiving my regular musings, hopefully someone else will take up my mantle of commentary in the future. Until we meet again, I am pleased, as always, to be getting the last word in.

Tom

Timonium, MD