Coleen Lawler, 89, passed away peacefully on June 1, 2023, at the Walnut Hills Nursing Home in Walnut Creek, Ohio. She was born during the Great Depression on a tobacco and cotton farm to the late George and Chloe “Bertie” Hayes on December 1, 1933, in Lake View, South Carolina.
Coleen graduated from Lake View High School in 1952 and went on to pursue a career in Nursing. She then graduated from South Carolina Baptist Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina in 1955. There, Coleen obtained a degree in Nursing (RN) and was chosen to write her class poem.
Coleen married the love of her life, Robert Lawler on September 10, 1955. Together, Coleen and Robert raised three children: Terry (Steve) Sansbury of Columbus, Rosemary Barbera of New Philadelphia, and Tim (Diana) Lawler of Cincinnati. Robert preceded her in death on Friday, June 19, 2020.
Coleen leaves behind her grandchildren; Cono (Faye) Barbera, Savannah Barbera (Tim Blick), Carli (Antonio) Hernandez, Olivia (Tim) Thompson, Ivy Lawler, Derek Lawler, Caroline (Carmine) Cesario, Jack Sansbury; her great-grandchildren, Athena Barbera, Maizy and Arlo Blick, Carolina Onorio, Priscilla Hernandez, Gio and Luci Barbera, Maeven and Tyson Thompson, and Bobby and TJ Cesario. Coleen is also survived by her brothers; Bill Hayes, Lanneau, and Margaret Hayes.
In addition to her husband, Coleen is preceded in death by her great-granddaughter, Amelia Onorio, along with nine brothers and sisters.
In honoring Coleen’s wishes, cremation has been entrusted with the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory of Dover. A memorial mass will take place at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Dover. The service arrangements are pending. To sign an online guestbook for Coleen, visit the obituary link on the funeral home’s website.
Memorial contributions can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Coleen Lawler, please visit our flower store.
Toland-Herzig Funeral Homes & Crematory
803 North Wooster Avenue
Dover, Ohio 44622
330-343-6132
www.tolandherzig.com
Make a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of Coleen Lawler