In Memory

Thomas Lawrence

Thomas Lawrence

March 12, 1952-May 29, 2019

DES MOINES - Thomas M. Lawrence, 67, of Des Moines died of natural causes on May 29, 2019, at his home in Des Moines. He was born on March 12, 1952, in Bossier City, Louisiana, the second son of Stan “Hack” Lawrence and Joan Lawrence. He grew up in Muscatine and attended Muscatine Public schools, graduating from Muscatine High in 1970. He later attended Marycrest College in Davenport, where he graduated with a degree in communications. Early in his career he worked as a Library Assistant at Musser Public Library and as a DJ for several different Quad-City and Iowa City radio stations. He found his true calling when he joined the staff of the Bootleggers performing wait staff at Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island. He knew that was where he belonged and he helped to entertain audiences there for nearly 30 years. He was a real showman with a beautiful singing voice. He was reading by age 3 and excelled not just at trivia, but in being deeply knowledgeable about nearly everything. So naturally, in 1988, he fulfilled a life-long dream of appearing on “Jeopardy!” and ended up being a three-day champion there. He was an avid runner and completed the Bix 7 and Watermelon Stampede road races numerous times. He was a great fan of old monster movies, comic book superheroes, the Beatles, the Iowa Hawks and the New York Yankees. 

Left to honor his memory are four brothers, John (Judy), of Mount Pleasant, Mark, of Muscatine, Bryan (Karen), of Des Moines, and Steven (Sheila) of Muscatine; one sister, Lynn Kellner (Mike), of Des Moines; and seven nieces and nephews, Adam Lawrence of Muscatine, and Jason, Connor and Callie Lawrence, Rachel Wilke-Shapiro and Monica Wilke and Lindsey Scott, all of Des Moines. He was preceeded in death by his parents.

There will be no formal funeral service. Condolence messages for the family may be sent to blaw5674@gmail.com. A memorial gathering celebrating Tom's life will take place in Muscatine at a later date to be announced



 
go to bottom 
  Post Comment

06/05/19 02:06 PM #1    

Marvin Smith

Very sad to hear of Thom’s passing.  He was a great guy!


06/06/19 06:08 AM #2    

Rose Curtis (Whittaker)

Thom was an exceptional talent who lived life to its fullest. His Way!


06/07/19 09:56 AM #3    

Clare Schumacher (Snyder)

So sad to hear about Thom.  he did excellent job at circa 21 great shows.


go to top 
  Post Comment