Lou Lawyer spent most of her life connected to Harding University. After her passing in May 2015, her family decided to honor her with a plaque on the wall of Worthy Women and a bench in the new First Ladies Garden.
Lawyer’s daughter Andee Cone said she and her two sisters want to honor both of their parents on Harding’s campus, and they decided to start with their mother.
“Since the First Ladies Garden is coming along, we decided to honor her first,” Cone said. “She loved Harding a lot. My parents thought it was a wonderful community to be a part of.”
According to her plaque, Lawyer graduated from Harding in 1948. She met her husband Virgil Lawyer on campus, and after receiving encouragement from former Harding President George Benson, they became missionaries in Japan. They established Ibaraki Christian High School, which has since developed into a university. The couple then returned to Searcy in 1961. Lou Lawyer taught fifth grade in Searcy Public Schools for 23 years, while her husband was a history professor and eventually dean of students at Harding.
Cone said education was always of the utmost importance to her mother, and that she was beloved as a fifth grade teacher.
“I think the kids could sense that she loved them and wanted them to do their best,” Cone said. “She expected a lot out of the students. She was very structured with their learning and I think a lot of them really needed that.”
After retirement, Lou Lawyer and her husband continued to live on Harding Drive and welcomed grandchildren and other college students into their home for meals.
Lou Lawyer’s grandson, assistant Harding football coach Matt Underwood, said it was a huge blessing to have his grandmother so close to campus while he was a student. Underwood said he and his cousins ate a meal at Lou Lawyer’s house every Wednesday afternoon.
“It is one of my best memories from college,” Underwood said. “She was just one of those ladies who made you feel like you were the most special person on earth. She set an example for how to treat your family. She left such a legacy. We were blessed to have her as long as we did.”
Cone said building relationships with college students was one of her mother’s passions.
“She loved being engaged with things going on at Harding,” Cone said. “They always worked with and loved students.”
Underwood said above all, his grandmother was a strong Christian example in his life.
“Her relationship with God was of the utmost importance,” Underwood said. “There was always a devotional book on her chair.”
Lou Lawyer’s plaque, along with many others, will hang on the retaining wall near Pryor Hall as a feature in the First Ladies Garden. The garden’s dedication and estimated date of completion is Oct. 23.
