Dr. Benjamin Lawson

Biography

Dr. Benjamin F. Lawson , age 80, of Walterboro , SC , a retired dean and faculty member at the Medical University of South Carolina, passed away at his home on February 15, 2012 . Dr. Lawson was born in rural Montgomery County, Alabama in 1931. He was the son of the late Benjamin F. Lawson and Rebecca Reaves Lawson. After graduating from Auburn University in 1953 with a B.S. in Pharmacy, he trained as a pilot with the United States Air Force and served as a First Lieutenant and Squadron Commander with the 406th Fighter-Bomber Wing in Manston, England. After military service he attended Emory University in Atlanta where he was awarded a D.D.S. and attended Indiana University in Indianapolis, where he was awarded a M.S.D. specializing in oral diagnosis and medicine. Dr. Lawson served on the faculties at Emory University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham . He and his family moved to Charleston in 1968 where he served on the faculty at the College of Dental Medicine and the College of Graduate Studies at MUSC and was a Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He also served as the Dean of the College of Allied Health Sciences (now the College of Health Professions) for eighteen years and worked as a consultant with the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. In that capacity, Dr. Lawson was proud to have been instrumental in laying the framework throughout South Carolina for satellite training programs for students in the healthcare sciences. Throughout his life he was known for his fondness for animals, especially his dog and walking companion, Henry, and for his ability in his youth to repair and treat broken bones on winged animals that arrived on his doorstep.

Dr. Lawson will be dearly missed and is survived by his wife, Joy Marsh Lawson; his three sons, Benjamin Makeham Lawson of Sarasota, Florida, David Ransom Lawson (Deborah) of Charleston, South Carolina, Mark McCarroll Lawson (Vickie) of Birmingham, Alabama; one stepson, Clyde Oliver "Ladd" Ackerman, Jr. of Charlotte, North Carolina; one granddaughter, Erin Ashley Martha Lawson; and two sisters, Martha Caroline Lawson of Columbia, South Carolina, and Rebecca Lawson Newman (Don) of Huntsville, Alabama.

The family of Dr. Lawson will be receiving guests on Saturday, February 18, 2012, from 4:00 PMuntil 6:00 PM at Brice W. Herndon and Sons Funeral Home in Walterboro, South Carolina. A memorial service will be held at Bethel United Methodist Church in Walterboro on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 2:00 PM. Flowers will be accepted or contributions may be made to Bethel United Methodist Church in Dr. Lawson's memory. Online condolences can be made by visiting www.briceherndonfuneralhome.com.

ARRANGEMENTS BY: THE BRICE W. HERNDON AND SONS FUNERAL HOME, WALTERBORO CHAPEL, 1193 Bells Highway, Walterboro; 843.538.5408.