GEORGE HART LAWRENCE III
Died Jan. 2, 2017
George Hart Lawrence III, longtime journalist, communications consultant and larger-than-life North Carolinian, died Monday in Goldsboro. He was 58.
Lawrence spent 23 years in the media as a writer, editor and associate publisher, including 15 years at the News and Observer of Raleigh, where he oversaw news coverage in Chapel Hill and Durham, and led the paper’s expansion in the western Triangle.
Previously, he was city editor of the Gastonia Gazette, news editor of The Daily Advance in Elizabeth City and sports editor of The Cary News.
He was also an involved volunteer in the Bull City, where he was a member of the Downtown Durham Rotary Club and the Duke-Durham campaign.
He served on the boards of the Carolina Theatre of Durham, the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science and Downtown Durham Inc.
After leaving the newspaper business, he taught journalism at the University of North Carolina School of Media and Journalism, and formed his own communications consulting firm, G.H. Lawrence and Associates.
He directed media events and public affairs strategy for nonprofits across the state, including Be Active North Carolina, the Medicare Rx Access Network and the North Carolina Community Development Initiative.
Lawrence was born in Port Chester, N.Y., and grew up in Goldsboro, where he graduated from Goldsboro High School, and was a state-ranked tennis player. He earned his undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University.
Lawrence had varied hobbies — finding American Indian artifacts, hunting deer with his father, roasting oysters at parties and collecting rock ’n’ roll memorabilia.
He was a huge Wolfpack fan and lover of poetry and great writing. He could quote a Gram Parsons lyric in the same breath as an Ernest Hemmingway novel, and he could weave a story like no one else.
He was a member of the North Carolina Council for Entrepreneurial Development, the North Carolina Press Association, the North Carolina Archaeological Society and the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association.
A gregarious personality, who made instant friends wherever he went, Lawrence was utterly devoted to his friends and family. He will be missed beyond measure.
He was predeceased by his father, George Hart Lawrence II.
He is survived by his beloved son, Wells Lawrence, and Wells’ mother, Jane Stancill; George’s mother, Pamela Lawrence; sister, Holly Lawrence; niece, Isabelle Reynolds; nephews, Spencer Reynolds and James Reynolds; uncle, Bryan Sutton; and many cousins.
A memorial service will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Carolina Theatre of Durham at 309 W. Morgan St. in Durham.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on January 4, 2017 10:15 AM