John R. Lawrence, age 66, born December 21, 1959 in Belleville, Ill., passed away October 30, 2026.
He is survived by his brothers Guy Lawrence (Terri Willi) of Collinsville; Mark & Debbie Lawrence of Queen Creek, Arizona; sister Doris (Kevin) Curle, O’Fallon; nieces Carlie Lawrence of St. Louis, Kristi (Yuji) Anderson of Lebanon, Kati (Brian) Eckert of O’Fallon, Michele (Doug) Woodford of St. Louis, and nephew David Lawrence of Gilbert, Arizona; previous brother-in-law, Duane Mersinger of O’Fallon, (who John loved to go visit on Sunday afternoons) and great nephews Nolan Woodford of St. Louis, Drew and Cooper Eckert of O’Fallon, and Tucker Anderson of Lebanon. He is also survived by the many Dilts family cousins in Winamac, IN…..one of John’s favorite places in the world to spend summers on the farm growing up.
John was a lifelong resident of O’Fallon. He graduated from OTHS in 1977 and went to work at Tomboy/Southview Foods in O’Fallon for several years, bagging groceries and stocking shelves. He was a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. He had many fond memories of those days, and friendships made along the way. John had more than his share of “bumps in the road” during his life, and one of those “bumps” turned in to a life-changing mountain he would spend the rest of his life climbing. At the age of 33, when he was within weeks of graduating from a Lab Technician program at BAC (SWIC today) he suffered a brain aneurysm. He survived this, but unfortunately, a few days later he then experienced a stroke. He went through a lengthy rehabilitation program but was never able to regain the use of his right side. Although at times over the years he was able to have his own apartment, he decided to make Cedar Ridge in Lebanon his permanent home 3 years ago. There, he was well-known and loved by all, both residents, staff, and even visitors, for his kind and friendly nature and his optimistic outlook on life. He was frequently spotted tooling down the hall in his blue power chair sporting one of his signature hats, joking with the staff…..and usually looking for the next good cup of coffee. His world may have been small, but he made the best of every day, caring for his many cacti and succulents on the windowsill of his room (sometimes too lovingly with the water!) He was very proud of his green thumb and loved anything Bonsai.
He looked forward to his frequent visits with his family and loved an occasional “field trip” (car ride) with his sister, even the times he wasn’t able to get out of the car until he got back home. He loved when his niece Carlie’s Chihuahua, “Barb” got to come along with her and Guy for a visit, and his face would light up telling you about that visit. He taught all of us what it’s like to be amazingly brave in the face of adversity, that fresh air and sunshine can fix a lot of things….. especially if you have a good cigar to go with it (and if that doesn’t fix it, then K-SHE coming through the earbuds certainly will!)
We learned to always remember there is someone out there who is struggling more than you are, to never give up, that we all have something in our lives to be thankful for, and most importantly, to be kind to one another. His family feels so blessed to have had him for the time that we did. We loved him dearly, and we are still amazed at how he powered through the huge hurdles and dark days he faced in his life. Maybe there was something to that Superman T-shirt he loved to wear.
In lieu of flowers from all who knew and loved John, please plant something……anything, next Spring in John’s honor, and remember to sow seeds of kindness EVERY day.
A visitation to celebrate and remember John’s life will be held from 5-7 pm, Monday, November 9, 2026 at Wolfersberger Funeral Home, 102 W. Washington St., O’Fallon, Ill. He will be laid to rest at O’Fallon City Cemetery, next to his parents.
