Friends and family will gather Saturday, March 6, for a memorial walk and two receptions for Dr. Lawrence “Larry” Rawson, 95, who died of pneumonia and complications Feb. 12 at the Veterans Affairs Hospital Palo Alto Hospice.
Dr. Rawson worked for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department beginning in 1953 and retired as county coroner. He lived in Ben Lomond from 1949 to 1963, when he moved to Boulder Creek.
The son of Ralph Nelson Rawson and Essie Ayres, he was born on Feb. 28, 1914, on Greendale Farm off Glen Canyon Road in Santa Cruz County. He earned his master’s degree in literature from University of California, Berkeley, before enlisting in the U.S. Army in January 1933. While in the service, he earned his medical degree at Schofield Barracks, in Hawaii, and he received an honorable discharge in February 1935. He then worked at the Berkeley Fire Department, where he started a training program for what is known today as EMT paramedics.
Dr. Rawson was a supporter of Santa Cruz Big Trees County Park, now Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, where he volunteered as a docent interpreter for more than a decade. He also enjoyed having daily coffee with his friends, a tradition that lasted more than 15 years.
He is survived by his wife, Shannon Weckman of Felton; daughter, Sally Stilgebouer of Albuquerque, N.M.; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
At his request, no funeral or memorial service is planned. Instead, to celebrate his love of nature, Saturday’s casual memorial walk will begin at 1 p.m. around the redwood loop at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Participants are asked to meet at the gift shop before the walk. Receptions will follow from 2 to 3 p.m. in the gift shop conference room and from 3 to 4 p.m. at Mountain Roasting Coffee House, in the Felton Faire shopping center.
Memorial contributions in Dr. Rawson’s name may be sent to The Nature Conservancy, the Smithsonian Institution, the California Native Plant Society, The Salvation Army, the National Wildlife Federation, Shriners hospitals or a charity of the donor’s choice.
