Lawrence Nelson Mower, Jr.
Join us in celebrating Lawrence—please share your stories and photos, and help spread the word about this page!
Lawrence Nelson Mower, Jr., a devoted husband, father, son, and brother, passed away peacefully in his sleep beside his wife in their Atlanta home on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021.
Nelson, who also responded to Nels, "honey," "pappy," and "the man," was 63. He was a consummate family man, hard worker, and mild prankster who instilled love and kindness ? and a dry sense of humor ? in his three children.
His family and friends will deeply miss his laughter, generosity, conversations over cigars and good wine, his elaborate fist bumps, and his biscuits, ribs, and brisket.
He leaves behind his wife and best friend, Charlene, and their proud children: Lawrence Mower III and wife Alexandra Glorioso of Tallahassee, Fla.; Pete Mower and partner Trish Lal of Atlanta; and his daughter Sarah Malik and husband Gagan Malik of Los Angeles.
Mower was born May 12, 1957 in Beeville, Texas, the third child of Lawrence Nelson Mower, Sr. and Frances Jean Mower.
From an early age, he was an excellent sailor, a great driver, and a formidable game-player (although records show he was on quite a losing streak against his wife in Spite and Malice of late).
In 1975, he graduated from Memorial High School in Tulsa, Okla., where he played flute and timp toms marching for the school's Big Blue Machine. He attended Oklahoma State University to pursue electrical engineering, but dropped out after having too much fun.
He returned to Tulsa and decided to finally pursue his best friend and former high school band member, Charlene Ramsey. She first told him she loved him like a brother (ouch), but she soon came around. He proposed two weeks later.
It was the best decision he ever made, he would often say. They loved each other fiercely during their 40 years of marriage, which they celebrated in 2020.
In his 20s, and with two young children, he worked a variety of odd jobs to get by while attending night classes at the University of Texas at Tyler. He graduated with honors with an accounting degree in 1987, leading to a long and successful business career. The last 20 years were spent with Cox Communications, where he steadily rose in the company's ranks, earning many friends and mentees along the way.
After stops with Cox in Las Vegas, Fayetteville, Ark., and Atlanta, he retired in 2018 as the company's vice president of customer experience and contact management.
His singular focus in life was his family, however, and his considerable energy, wisdom, and work ethic was devoted to them. They were all the richer for it.
He was always there, from volunteering with the kids' marching band and winter guard competitions (adopting kids along the way), to planning long family vacations, to his willingness to drop everything to help move his kids across the country or get them out of a bind.
He was as dependable as they come. He could fix anything (except plumbing, which he never understood), made a great dry martini (stirred, of course), and was proud of his Christmas lights (most years).
He loved his motorcycles, calling the hogs at Arkansas Razorback games, traveling the world with Charlene, taking her to 70s-era rock concerts like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Steely Dan, and grilling/smoking on his Big Green Egg. His favorite movie was "Blazing Saddles," and he could hold entire conversations in "Seinfeld" quotes with his oldest son.
A vocal advocate of afternoon naps, he was often spotted in recent years passed out by the pool with a book in his lap. He had just finished Ron Chernow's biography on Ulysses S. Grant, which led Nelson to conclude the United States should pay reparations.
He and Charlene also volunteered as elections observers for the ACLU of Georgia in the Jan. 5, 2021 Senate runoff elections. (He was happy to see the state turn blue.)
He leaves behind many friends, loved ones, and neighbors who benefitted from his kindness and generosity. His passing came far too soon. Many recent weekends were spent rebuilding and upgrading, by hand, the electronics and woodwork on his new sailing sloop, Phoebe, so he could enjoy it with them.
He is survived by his parents, Fran and Larry of Tulsa; his sister Sheryll (Tom) Robbins of Monument, Colo.; his sister Laurie (John) Patterson of Tulsa; his brother Kelly (June) Mower of Dallas and their children Selena and Terrence; brother-in-law Jim Ramsey and his children Gabrielle and Matthew, niece Brandi Holderness and her daughter Raven, niece Abigail Loros and her daughters Season and Zia, and so many other loved ones.
In lieu of flowers, his family asks to be kind to one another. Donations can be made to your local food bank or voting rights group.
A small ceremony for loved ones will be announced at a later date.
When it happens, we'll make sure he gets "a 'harrumph' outta that guy."