Earline Mae Lawrence

Earline Mae (Barnett) Lawrence was born on December 7, 1944, in Memphis, Tennessee, to the late George and Arilla Barnett. She accepted Jesus Christ at an early age at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Tennessee and attended St. Peter-Immanuel Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as an adult. Earline received her formal education in Tennessee and graduated from Barrett’s Chapel High School.

In 1961, Earline relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Upon her arrival in Milwaukee, Earline worked a variety of jobs until she was hired at Briggs & Stratton in 1967 and retired in 1997. Earline enjoyed working at Briggs & Stratton as an assembler. She formed several life-long friendships during her tenure at Briggs & Stratton. Lillian Lawrence was a co-worker in which she developed a strong friendship. Subsequently, Lillian introduced Earline to one of her brothers, Earl, because she felt that they would be a perfect match and she was correct.

Earline was united in holy matrimony with Earl Lawrence on February 14, 1969, in Waukegan, Illinois. They were married for over 50 years. The two were inseparable and were each other’s soul mates.

Although Earline was dealing with a host of health issues, she was a selfless person who always put others first and remained strong in her faith.  Earline absolutely loved children. She spent countless hours doing activities with her children and grandchildren, such as playing games and throwing birthday parties. She truly cherished and embraced the time she spent with them. She loved being with her family and would often comment on how blessed she was to have her family. Additionally, Earline was a humanitarian. Unbeknownst to most, Earline donated generously to several charities throughout her lifetime. She truly wanted to make a difference in the lives of people.

In her pastime, she loved to travel, take cruises, visit family and friends, play cards (spades was her game of choice), plant flowers, play trivia, feed the birds, and listen to music. She absolutely loved Motown and the blues. She would often sit on the deck singing for hours. Earline would sing each song verbatim and would kindly inform you if you missed one word or if you were off-key when you were singing.

Earline was the epitome of a social butterfly. She found immense pleasure in engaging with people. Earline was an intelligent, hilarious, and witty individual. She was always quick to respond with humor and candor. Besides being able to engage easily with anyone, she was a great listener and would always provide honest and unfiltered feedback. Earline also had a beautiful smile that was contagious.

On December 25, 2023, at the age of seventy-nine, Earline departed this life. She was deeply loved and will be dearly missed. She was preceded in death by both her parents, George and Arilla Barnett, brothers Robert Adams and George (Virginia) Barnett, sister Mary Lou (Barnett) Payne, and son Earl (Little Earl) Lawrence.

She leaves to cherish her memories; her husband of 54 years, Earl Lawrence, children Trava Darcel Barnett and Tanya Denise Lawrence, two brothers, Clyde (Clister) Barnett and John (Gloria) Barnett; four grandchildren, Earl Luttrell, Victoria Lawrence, Shaun (Lauren) Barnett, and Colton Lawrence. She also leaves to cherish her memory a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, friends, and co-workers.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, January 4th, at Wisconsin Memorial Park, Chapel of the Chimes, 13235 West Capitol Drive, Brookfield, from 1:00 PM until the time of Service at 2:00 PM, followed by Interment at 3:00 PM and a Repast.

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