In Memory of Lance S. Lawlor
Lance Stephen Lawlor, a dear friend and volunteer for Mackinac Arts Council, has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory.
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Lance Stephen Lawlor, a dear friend and volunteer for Mackinac Arts Council, has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory.
Lance Stephen Lawlor, 68, died peacefully at his home on Sunday, April 5, 2020 after a valiant fight against cancer. Lance was born January 6, 1952, in Detroit, Michigan, to Martin Peter and Mary Linda (George) Lawlor. He attended the University of Michigan, graduating with a BFA in 1975 from the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design.
Lance was a student of world renown costume designers of the 1930s-1950s, especially Adrian Adolph Greenberg (Dinner At Eight, Grand Hotel), Orry George Kelly (Casablanca, Now, Voyager), and Edith Head (Rear Window, Vertigo). Throughout the 1980s, he was a costume designer for Ann Arbor Civic Theater (The Late Christopher Bean, The Boyfriend) and University of Michigan Gilbert & Sullivan Society. From 1986-87, Lance served as a costume technician in the University of Michigan theater department.
Lance enjoyed a variety of pursuits, including floral design, furniture restoration, and decorative painting, eventually settling into a life-long career as an Interior Designer. He had an unerring eye for color, fabric and proportions, and attracted both commercial and residential clients from California, Florida, Connecticut, Chicago, Mexico, Mackinac Island, and all over Michigan. He worked on diverse projects, including many professional offices, salons, Liberty Sports Club, and with the Iroquois Hotel on Mackinac Island for eighteen years. He had the gift of using humor to direct clients, many of whom became friends, to a better design decision with such lines as, “You have two choices, and one of them is wrong.” He left a lasting legacy of beautifully designed spaces and warm and welcoming homes.
Lance loved opulence in contemporary and traditional style, gardens, art, beauty, Northern Michigan, and a solidly made cocktail. He will be remembered as a gentleman with impeccable taste who was dignified and polite, a giver of perfect gifts, a person who made everyone, including the family and friends whose company he treasured, feel ten pounds lighter and glamorous.
Proud of his family and friends, he is survived by his brother, Martin K. Lawlor (Judy) as well as a niece Carrie Brunner (Timothy) and nephew, Kevin Ostrowski (Laura), four great nieces and nephews, and a plethora of close friends who will miss him dearly.