Longtime USU Supporter Janet Quinney Lawson Dies
Characterized by friends and family as a champion of environmental education and conservation, longtime Utah State University supporter Janet Quinney Lawson died Dec. 25, 2008, at her home in Salt Lake City. She was 86.
During fall 2009, a sculpture of Lawson, commissioned by her family, will be placed on the USU campus. Sculptor Kraig Varner is creating the work, which will complement the sculpture of Emma Eccles Jones that resides between the Emma Eccles Jones Education and building and the Edith Bowen Laboratory School.
“Janet was a fine individual who loved the outdoors and who touched many lives in very positive ways,” said Nat B. Frazer, dean of USU's College of Natural Resources.
Lawson was recognized by USU in 2004 during the dedication of a building named in her honor. The Janet Quinney Lawson building houses USU's Utah Climate Center and Remote Sensing/Geographic Information Systems Laboratory along with other services.
Lawson received USU's Distinguished Service Award in 1998 and an honorary Doctorate of Natural Resources degree from the university in 2000.
Wildland Resources professor Fee Busby called Lawson a "remarkable person with the courage and willingness to invest heavily in programs and projects she believed important."
“Almost all of her philanthropy was associated with the development of young people, their character and their education,” he said.
The daughter of S.J. "Joe" and Jessie Quinney, Lawson was instrumental in developing relationships between the foundation that bears her parents' names and USU's College of Natural Resources. In February 2008, the foundation gifted the college with $5 million to support ongoing student scholar programs, the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Natural Resources Library and new research programs.
"My wife, Faye, and I have warm memories of sitting with Janet on the porch of her Bear Lake cabin and listening to stories of how her parents drove from Logan to Bear Lake in a horse-drawn wagon - a two-day trip in those days," Frazer said.
In addition to her support of USU, Lawson offered time and financial support to many organizations including the Utah Girl Scout Council, the Hogle Zoo, the Nature Conservancy and the Utah Symphony and Ballet West.
Lawson is survived by her two sons, Frederick Q. Lawson and Peter Q. Lawson, as well as nine grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Joanne.
