MAKING HOME A HAPPY PLACE GRAYCE LAWLER, 90, PRIDED HERSELF ON BEING A WIFE, MOTHER.Byline: Holly J. Andres Staff Writer The quintessential mother, wife and homemaker, Grayce Lawler died Monday at her Granada Hills home of complications following a fall earlier this month. She was 90. ``She was the 'Leave it to Beaver' mother. Her whole purpose in life was being a good wife and mother,'' said Virginia Maloney, one of Lawler's three daughters. ``She made a wonderful life for us. Somehow, even though she didn't seem to be independent, she instilled in us that women were as good as men and to be independent. All three of us adored her.'' Lawler was known for her sense of humor Noun 1. sense of humor - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humour, humor, humour and playful spirit that delighted her daughters when they were growing up. ``She did this thing where she would tell us she had a secret and she would make us guess all day long. One day she said she had the best secret, that we would get something really wonderful,'' Maloney said. ``My sister, Jean, and I guessed a puppy, a horse, parakeets parakeets one of the bird groups known as typical parrots in the family Psittacidae. Small parrots with long tails and include the budgerigar. . We guessed everything under the sun. ``She finally told us, at the end of the day, that she was going to have a baby. She did things like that all the time when we were young.'' Grayce May McMonigal was born Dec. 27, 1914, in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . She graduated from Jefferson High School Jefferson High School is the name of numerous high schools in the United States, most named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, including:
He died of complications of Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. in 1990. She was also preceded in death by an infant daughter, Linda Kay Lawler, and a grandson, Ronald Shelton. ``She was a fantastic mother. Everything was for her family,'' said eldest daughter, Jean Lawler. ``She was a very good cook. Her potato salad was out of this world. She made fantastic pumpkin pies, as she did just last year, and persimmon pudding Persimmon pudding is a traditional American dessert made with persimmons. Although American, persimmon pudding is similar to traditional English dessert puddings, such as Christmas pudding or quince pudding. . ``She took care of our father, who had Alzheimer's for the last five years of his life, by herself until the last six weeks of his life. That's not an easy job. She was loving, fair and very caring.'' Lawler was an amateur oil painter and was active in the Republican Party. She loved peppermint peppermint: see mint. peppermint Strongly aromatic perennial herb (Mentha piperita, mint family), source of a widely used flavouring. Native to Europe and Asia, it has been naturalized in North America. ice cream, the Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. , the Dodgers and her garden tomatoes and flowers. Lawler is survived by daughters, Jean Lawler, Virginia Maloney and Lorraine Moore; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. A private funeral will be held Monday. Lawler was cremated and her ashes will be at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth. Memorial donations may be sent to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Foundation, Attn. Donor Services, 4650 Sunset Blvd. MS29, Los Angeles 90027 or Make-a-Wish Foundation of America, Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 29119, Phoenix, AZ 85038-9119. Holly Andres, (818) 713-3708 holly.andres(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) LAWLER |
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