John J. Lawser

RED BANK – On Tuesday July 14, 2020, John Jutten Lawser, loving and kind husband, father, and grandfather, passed away peacefully from complications of Parkinson’s Disease at age 79.  Born July 4, 1941, John enjoyed numerous birthday celebrations with family, friends, and fireworks in Red Bank, NJ. John was born in Bryn Mawr, Pa, moved to Dearborn, MI during high school, and received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan.  

John married his beloved Sarah Anne Hardin in 1965; while in Ann Arbor, MI they were blessed with two daughters, Susan and Amy.  Beginning in 1970, John worked 43 years at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories in Holmdel and AT&T in Middletown, NJ.  In 1991 John was honored as an AT&T Fellow for significant contributions in the design, development and implementation of their common channel network. 

John enjoyed childhood summers on Lake Erie where his Canadian grandparents had a cottage. His love of water sports continued in NJ where he learned to sail and race sailboats on the Navesink River—a passion he shared with his family, friends, and members of the Monmouth Boat Club where he served as Commodore from 1990-92. He took great pride in his wooden Albacore “Woodwind”, which he raced for decades with Sarah. A highlight of his life was watching his daughters train together and compete at the 1992 US Olympic Sailing Trials.  

What did John do most evenings at 7pm?  He loved watching Jeopardy! Other passions included: ham radio (WA2SZQ), playing bridge, cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals, rooting for Michigan football and basketball teams (Go Blue!), cycling (including on Mt. Washington and Mt. Diablo and later with the Parkinson’s group at the Red Bank YMCA), woodworking, furniture making, and raising angelfish.  John also enjoyed traveling. Among his favorite trips were those with his six beloved grandchildren on their “10-year-old trips” to U.S. destinations of their choice.

John raised and loved seven German Shepherd dogs during his lifetime.  He is survived by Hans Lawser of Red Bank, NJ, and was predeceased by Duke (1969), Brutus (1981), Rolf (1992), Charles (1997), Lance (2006), and Hannah (2017).

Over the past five decades, John was blessed with many brothers and sisters in Christ through his worship and many other roles at the Lincroft Presbyterian Church, including Elder and Sunday School teacher.
In March, 2020, John and Sarah moved from Holmdel, their home since 1972, to the Atrium at Navesink Harbor in Red Bank. As his Parkinson’s progressed, John moved to their nursing floor, and his family is grateful for the excellent care he was given by so many loving health-care workers during the covid-19 pandemic.

John is survived by his loving wife Sarah; his daughter Susan Voss and her husband Paul of Northampton, MA; his daughter Amy Curran of Haverford, PA; his six grandchildren Erin Voss & Jasper Voss and Anne, Daniel, Grace & Sean Curran; his sister Jane Warren and her husband Wayne and daughters Linda & Molly Warren; and his brother-in-law Peter Wynstra and his daughters Judith Wynstra & Pamela Henthorn.  He was predeceased by his parents John Jacob Lawser (1914-1992) and  Audrey Jutten Lawser (1918-2017) and his sister-in-law Margaret Wynstra.

Donations in memory of John may be made in support of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Jefferson Hospital. (Checks payable to “Jefferson Parkinson’s Center”; Office of Institutional Advancement, 125 S. 9th Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia PA 19107.)

A Memorial Service to celebrate John’s life will be held via Zoom on Saturday July 25th at 1pm.  Friends are invited to participate and can email his daughter Susan (svoss@smith.edu) to request information.