Samuel "Sam" H. Lawson, Jr., age 93, died on July 4, 2025 at the University of Connecticut John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington, CT. He was a resident of Pleasant Valley, NY, since 1966, and briefly of Farmington, CT. Sam was a professional engineer who retired from IBM in 1992 after a variety of assignments in Poughkeepsie, Kingston, and Armonk, NY. His previous career positions were in New England with the Connecticut Light and Power Co., and federal civil service in Bermuda during America's space program of the 1960s, in which he modernized Bermuda's airfield facilities to support NASA's Mercury and Gemini missions.

With IBM for 26 years, Mr. Lawson enjoyed a variety of technical and management assignments. Most memorable for him were two chair assignments training new managers at IBM's Corporate Management Development Center in Armonk, NY. He retired in 1992 as a senior engineer and manager of IBM Poughkeepsie's Management Development Center.

After retirement, Mr. Lawson was associated for over twenty years with Boscobel House and Gardens in Garrison, NY, where as a docent he conducted tours of the Federal-era house museum.

Sam was born in Plymouth, CT, in 1931, the son of Samuel H. and Elsie Kiesel Lawson. He attended local schools and earned a degree in electrical engineering from the evening division of New Haven College (now University of New Haven) while working full time. After service in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during the Korean War, he married Rose Toscano, of Bristol CT, in 1956.

For many years he was a member of the Freedom Plains Presbyterian Church in LaGrangeville, NY. As an Elder and member of the Session, he served as a Board of Trustees officer and led a number of church initiatives. His service to the community also included active participation in the United Way of Dutchess County as a Loaned Executive, a member of its Board of Directors, and president of the agency's Community Resources division.

Sam's personal interests included distance running and landscape gardening, especially roses. He regarded his most significant post-retirement accomplishment to be a book he wrote about his early life in a small New England town, which explained how his life-long values were formulated.

Sam Lawson is survived by daughter Amy Lawson and son-in-law Christopher Hayes, of Windsor, CT; daughter-in-law Linda Kopp of South Chelmsford, MA; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife, Rose Lawson; daughter, Joanne Lawson; and sisters Lorraine Lasnier and Dorothy Johnson, both of Bristol, CT.

Visiting hours will be held at McHoul Funeral Home of Fishkill, Inc., 1089 Main Street, Fishkill, NY, from 12-2 pm on Sunday, July 20, 2025, with a memorial service following at the same location at 2 pm. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sam's memory to Boscobel Home & Gardens (visit https:// www.boscobel.org/get-involved/#donations ).