Douglas P. Lawson Jr, 82, passed away peacefully in Tooele, Utah, July 8, 2021, after a multi-year battle with dementia. He was born Oct. 8, 1938, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Douglas P. and Edith Lawson. The oldest of four boys, he had a lifelong love of horses, which he nurtured in numerous ways over the course of his life and shared with anyone who also loved them.
He married Ann Mortensen in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, June 29, 1962, and spent the rest of his life nurturing his love for her and their five kids. His family was always his priority, and he spent countless hours supporting his kids: Garit (57), Mindy who preceded him in death, Michael (54), Erin (51) and Marc (47) years old. Adding to the joy of his own kids, his and Ann’s 16 grandkids became sources of great pride and enjoyment as he spent as much as he could attending their sporting and artistic endeavors.
Doug was a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held many different leadership positions over the course of his life. And while serving as bishop early in his life, his favorite positions were always those where he was teaching the youth, who were always up for his many stories and playful teasing, a hallmark of the way he interacted with those he loved. He proudly served a church mission to England and stayed in touch with many of those he met during this time.
An avid athlete during his life, he loved to play, then coach, many kinds of sports. Another way to interact with and influence the youth, he relished the many opportunities he had to coach not only his kids’ teams, but also many other teams after his own kids aged out. As his kids and grandkids pursued other interests than horses and sports, his own interests grew as well to embrace all activities that his loved ones chose.
A viewing will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, July 13, at Tate Mortuary, 110 S. Main St., Tooele, and a short viewing will be held at the Erda LDS chapel, 323 E. Erda Way, Erda, Utah, Wednesday, July 14 from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., followed by the funeral service at 11 a.m.
Doug’s family would like to thank everyone who has reached out during this time, and we want to express our appreciation for all those who were important to Doug’s life.
A livestream of the funeral will be available for those unable to attend in person at the following link: my.gather.app/remember/douglas-lawson.