Laconia----"Mike" Michael Z. Lawton, 58, of Laconia , died peacefully at home on Saturday, September 24, 2011 of complications from ALS/Lou-Gherig's disease. He was surrounded by his loving family.
Mr. Lawton was born May 4, 1953, in Franklin , NH , to Barbara (Knight) and John Lawton. He graduated from Dover HS in 1971, spending summers in Weirs Beach , N.H. on Lake Winnipesaukee and was owner of the Lawton Boat Company.
Boats had figured predominantly in his life, from his youth working on boats in the Weirs, to marine carpentry courses at the Edison School of Technology in Seattle , Washington , where he earned an Associates Degree. He carried his two tool boxes and a duffel bag and boarded a plane for Alaska where he repaired cannery ships, flying by helicopter from ship to ship on the fishing grounds. After Mr. Lawton moved to Bingham, Maine in May, 1981, he and his small crew of three men restored the 69-year old, 140-ton Moosehead Lake Steamship, Katahdin. In recent years, he was involved in the restoration of The Endeavor in Rhode Island. Mike also built a harp for his daughter, and worked for many years on his masterpiece, a small boat that would soar above water; The Aero Bateaux. The design of his final project, a dogsled, was the product of two years of planning and work. Mike was a talented bass musician, a true adventurer and a poet, and will be remembered for his quick wit and trademark smile.
Mike is survived by his mother, Barbara Winter, of Dover; his wife, Dorothy Cool-Lawton, of Laconia; four children, daughter, Ingrid Gracious Lawton of Gilmanton; daughter, Amelya Grace Lawton of Laconia; daughter, Elizabeth Grace Lawton of New Hampton; son, Jules Randolph Lawton of Weirs Beach; a grandson, Elijah Maxwell Nadeau of Laconia; seven siblings, sister, Cyndi and her husband Russell Goodwin, of Belmont; brother, Randolph Lawton, and his lifelong companion, Deborah Montague, of Gilford; sister, Susa, and her husband, Sam Umayyah Haddadin, of Dover; sister, Judith Lawton, and her partner, Guillermo Fuentes, of Los Angeles, California; brother, Thomas Lawton, of Portland, Oregon; brother, Steven Lawton, of Weirs Beach; sister, Michelle Vilandry, of Danbury; uncles, Perley Knight of Tyngsboro, MA; Robert Lawton of Weirs Beach; three nephews, Nathaniel Goodwin, Zaid Haddadin and James Haddadin; several cousins and many longtime friends. He was predeceased by his father, John Salisbury Lawton.
Mike's wife and children wish to express their heartfelt gratitude to all of those who assisted him along this difficult journey, especially; Dr. Erin Hattan, Mr. Bob Wilkinson of Laconia , and Community Health and Hospice of Laconia.
Things Men Have Made
"Things men have made with wakened hands, and put soft life into
Are awake through years with transferred touch,
And go on glowing for long years
And for this reason, some old things are lovely
Warm still with the life of forgotten men who made them."
D.H. Lawrence.
A Celebration of Mike’s Life will be held on Friday, September 30, 2011 from 3:00pm-5:00pm at the Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home, 164 Pleasant Street , Laconia , NH , 03246 using the Carriage House entrance.
For those who wish, the family suggests that memorial donations be made to: Wilkinson-Beane Inc., PO BOX 67 , Laconia , NH 03247-0067 or The ALS Association-Development Department 27001 Agoura Rd. Suite 250 Calabasas Hills CA 91301. www.alsa.org.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street , Laconia , N.H. is assisting the family. For more information and to view an on line memorial go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com.