Loading
SL![]()
author
Shirley H. Lawrence
Shirley Humphreys was born and schooled in the east. In 1948, she flew out west for a visit and decided to stay and to work for a small airline. The line flew from Reno to Las Vegas in Nevada and P...view moreShirley Humphreys was born and schooled in the east. In 1948, she flew out west for a visit and decided to stay and to work for a small airline. The line flew from Reno to Las Vegas in Nevada and Phoenix in Arizona and to all the little towns in between.
The following year, the airline decided to do a December promotional and fly Santa Claus into all the towns en route. Shirley was chosen to accompany Santa and introduce him to the children who were brought to the airport.
Prescott, Arizona was a stop where Bill Lawrence was Station Manager for the line. Shirley knew Bill slightly but they had never dated. It was on that stop when Bill asked her for a date and the romance began. She became Mrs. Wm. Lawrence and their children love to tell the story of how Santa brought their parents together.
Bill's mother Mabel Lloyd Lawrence was a well known Arizona artist. And it was through her paintings and stories of growing up in the early days of Arizona, that the idea for Beyond Mingus began to form in Shirley's mind.
Allyn E. Lawrence illustrated this story for her mother. Allyn was born in Prescott, Arizona. She has inherited much of her grandmother's artistic talent.view less