Harold Leonard Lawless

Harold Leonard Lawless was born July 11, 1922 to John L. and Mabel A. Lawless in Nevada, Missouri. He grew up in Nevada and married Marilyn Ann Kuhn, his high school sweetheart, on Nov 8, 1945 in Nevada, Missouri. They met during music recitals where Marilyn played piano as accompanist to Harold on violin. He graduated Nevada high school class of 1940, then attended Georgia School of Technology in Atlanta until his enlistment in the Navy in 1943. He served in the Pacific theater aboard the USS Hogget Bay and USS Saginaw Bay escort carriers as a navigator/radioman flying in a TBF Avenger torpedo/bomber fighter and was headed to pilot flight school when the war ended. His flight unit served with distinction in the Pacific until the end of the war with Japan. Harold received Naval Department commendations including the Air Medal with 2nd and 3rd gold stars for meritorious action in Luzon, Philippine Islands and Iwo Jima and the Navy Unit Commendation ribbon. After the war, he returned to Georgia Tech and received his degree in chemical engineering in 1946. Harold worked as a chemical engineer for Shell Chemical, Ball Aerospace, Sterns Rogers Engineering, the US Department of the Army at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and later had his own consulting business. He holds several US patents in a variety of disciplines including geothermal fuel cells and electrostatic reactor processing. Harold and Marilyn had 4 sons, Michael born 1948, David born 1950, Steven born 1953 and Daniel born 1956. Harold and Marilyn raised their family in Aurora, CO until they later moved to Rapid City where he worked for Sterns Rogers Engineering. Harold is survived by his wife Marilyn, sons Dan, Dave and his wife Kathy, Steve and his wife Jane and their children Emma and Ben, and Mike's wife, Glenna Hale and her children James, DeeDee, and Terry. Michael passed away unexpectedly in 2006. He was his own man and instilled the important values of courage, honesty, integrity, self-sufficiency and hard work in his sons. He was fearless in protecting his family and ready to express his opinion on any topic. He was part of the generation that demonstrated the ""can do"" attitude we only read about now. No job was too intimidating or difficult whether it was automotive repair or developing chemical formulas for industry. Harold valued education and intellectual challenges and often gave math books and science project kits to the boys as Christmas gifts. We want to be sure he knows how much his family loved and respected him, how proud we are to be his sons and how much we appreciate all he did for us. We'll all miss him. A Visitation for Harold will be held from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 11150 East Dartmouth Avenue, Aurora. A Graveside Service will be held at 11:30 AM on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Staging Area B, Denver, Colorado. Please share memories and leave condolences for Harold's family by signing the guestbook.