William "Bill" J. Lawrence
William “Bill” J. Lawrence, 70, of Bemidji, died Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at the VA Medical Center in Boise, Idaho.
William “Bill” J. Lawrence, 70, of Bemidji, died Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at the VA Medical Center in Boise, Idaho.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 13, in Memorial Hall M-100, on the campus of Bemidji State University. A gathering will be held after the service at the American Legion, 217 Minnesota Ave. N.W.
Honorary pallbearers will be granddaughters, Macey M. Lawrence and Ashley S. Wolf and grandsons, Mason R. Wolf and Joshua J. Wolf.
He was born in 1939, to Joseph William Lawrence and Stella (Spears) Lawrence Smith in Red Lake. He earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in business administration at Bemidji State University in 1962. He served as a commissioned officer with the U.S. Marine Corp from 1962-66. He also earned a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of North Dakota in 1972. He was employed as the director of economic development and planning for the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians from 1968-69; he was an educational administrator for the Minnesota Department of Education, 1968-75; the superintendent of the Colorado River Agency Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1975-78; the executive director for the Fort Mohave Indian Tribe, 1978-82; a contract representative for Honeywell Inc Military Avionics Division, 1984-92, and the owner and publisher of the Native American Press/Ojibwe News 1988-2009. He was an adjunct instructor teaching a class on investigative reporting in the Mass Media Department at Bemidji State University, during the spring of 2006. He received the Freedom of Information Award by the Society of Professional Journalists in 2007 and also recorded more than 1,200 hours of pilot-in-command time as a private pilot. He wrote an essay, titled “In Defense of Indian Rights” which was published in the book “Beyond the Color Line, New Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity in America,” a collection of essays compiled by Abigail Thernstrom and Steven Thernstrom.
He is survived by his special friend and companion, Roxanne Jensen; daughters, Sara Suzanne Lawrence of Minneapolis and Amy Lawrence Wolf of Lakeville, Minn.; two granddaughters and two grandsons.
He was preceded in death by his son, Joel William Lawrence and a brother, Richard Lawrence.
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susan s.
03/04/2010 10:22 PM
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sandra s.
03/04/2010 10:26 AM
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Dennis K.
Your voice and written words maybe silent, however your spirit will live on in those that seek justice. May you journey on to a better place. Thank you for the great conversations we shared. Dennis & Diana KihlstadiusBemidji, MN 03/05/2010 12:15 PM
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