Mrs. Louise Ledbetter Lawrence

December 12, 1926 - March 20, 2015

LOUISE LEDBETTER LAWRENCE, 88, died on March 20, 2015, in Durham, North Carolina. Louise was born on December 12, 1926, in Forsyth County, Georgia, the daughter of Lewis Thomas Ledbetter of Ducktown, Georgia, and Grace Irene Lathem of Lathemtown, Georgia. Her husband, George (“Big George”) Durwood Lawrence, Sr. of Eatonton, Georgia, predeceased her. Louise is survived by her three children Amelia Ann Lawrence (m. Steve Leinwand) of Washington, D.C., George (“Chip”) Durwood Lawrence, Jr. (m. Barbara Burmood) of Ucross, Wyoming and Sally (“Woo”) Lawrence Jenkins (m. John Jenkins) of Aiken, South Carolina; her two sisters Sue Coursey (m. Lloyd Coursey, deceased) and Tommie Postell (m. Wayne Postell); her grandchildren Robert Glenn Etter, Lori Lawrence Etter, George (“Woody”) Durwood Lawrence, III, Sarah Grace Lawrence Morgan, Scott Dickerson Lawrence, Lathem Emily Jenkins Gordon, and John McDowell (“Jack”) Jenkins, Jr.; and her great grandchildren Abraham Finn Etter, Caroline Hope Welty, Sam Bowen Lawrence, Jackson Stone Lawrence, Derek Lawrence Morgan, and Dargan McDowell Gordon. Also considered a part of her family are Sheriff Howard Richard Sills (m. Janet Williams) and his son Taylor Rossee Sills: Jason Aaron Leinwand and Ethan Slater Leinwand (sons of Steve Leinwand): and Deborah (“Debbie”) Aamold Cormier and Teresa (“Teri”) Aamold Shields (daughters of Barbara Lawrence) and their progeny. Louise lived her childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, attended the University of Georgia and graduated from the Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville, Georgia. She lived the bulk of her adult life in Eatonton, Georgia and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and her later years in Durham, North Carolina. Louise, affectionately called Nanny and Little Nanny by her family, had an insatiable, infectious curiosity that inspired a life of learning and teaching. Professionally, she began as a 16-year old copy girl for the Atlanta Constitution and later became a beloved schoolteacher and a property manager. She was also an avid world traveler who devoted much time to her family and friends as well as civic and church affairs. A few of the ways she served included support of education, historic preservation, libraries, Sunday School teaching, political interests, the preservation of sea turtles, and a lifetime of enthusiastic, inclusive hospitality. A memorial service will be held in her honor at The First Baptist Church of Eatonton on April 18 at 2:00 p.m. with the Dr. J. Truett Gannon and the Rev. Keithen Tucker officiating. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers a donation be made in her memory to the Salvation Army (donate.salvationarmyusa.org); Jifundishe, an organization that supports rural education in Tanzania (jifundishe.org); or the Coastal Discovery Museum’s Sea Turtle Protection Project (coastaldiscovery.org).