Jean Bryan Lawrence, 97, Southbury died December 27. She was born December 1, 1917, in Fargo, N.D., and spent her childhood in Berlin, Mass. 

She married Edward Lawrence, a naval officer, in 1944. After the end of World War II, they lived all over the country, before settling in Newtown in 1963 to raise their family.

Mrs Lawrence worked for many years as a secretary at Berry School in Bethel. After retirement, she spent many happy years volunteering at the Cornerstone, at the Congregational Church in Newtown. 

She moved to The Watermark in Southbury in 2008, where she enjoyed flower arranging, golfing, and working in the library. Mrs Lawrence had a passion for gardening, books, poetry, antiques, and most of all, her home and family.

Her daughters and husbands Joanna Lawrence and Riad  Aamar of Litchfield, Bette and Wayne Piskura of Roxbury, and Diane Cameron Lawrence and John Gregory of Louisville, Ky.; her son, Bill Lawrence, and his wife Mia, of Seattle; and her two grandchildren, Jacob and Kathryn Piskura, survive Mrs Lawrence. Her husband of 55 years, Ed, predeceased her.

A celebration of her life will take place in Scituate, Mass., in the spring.

The Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown, is serving the family.