Leatrice “Nell” Lawson, 100, of Crestview, entered her eternal rest on January 30, 2026. Nell was born in Dothan, Alabama, a few years after World War 1 to a farming family and grew up with 5 sisters. No stranger to an outhouse, kerosene lamps, and firewood stoves, she learned at an early age to value hard work, pinch pennies, and become creative at making something from nothing. All her life she lived by these values. She was one hundred percent a realist, stubborn, feisty and tough as nails. Her life was centered around faith and family. She loved to sew, quilt, knit and crochet. Gardening, both flowers and vegetables, kept her busy in good weather and she attributed her long life to working daily in the yard. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were among her greatest loves and her eyes lit up whenever she saw them.
Beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she leaves behind one sister, Jackie Jambor; two daughters Louella (Patrick) Devine and Lynne (Shane McKibben) Ray; four grandchildren: Jennifer (Kenneth) Clark, Robert (Julie Lee) Devine, Timothy (Whitney) Devine, and Andrea (Marcus) Drake; as well as nine great-grandchildren: Braden, Mason and Peyton Clark, Carter and Claire Devine, Benjamin and James Devine, Andru Ray, and Bekah and Dawson Lee. She was preceded in death by her parents, 4 of her 5 sisters, and her husband R. D. Lawson. A time of visitation will be held on Thursday, February 5, 2026 from 9:00-10:00am at Airport Road Church of Christ with the funeral service starting at 10:00am. Burial will follow at Live Oak Park Memorial Cemetery.
Arrangements are entrusted to Whitehurst Powell Funeral Home in Crestview. Guest book and condolences are available online at www.whitehurstpowellfuneralhome.com
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