Of all people who tied the knot 50 or more years ago, and who haven’t yet died, only 50 percent have made it this far without divorcing or becoming widowed, according to the American Community Survey (February 13, 2016).
Ron and Lillian Lawrence, of Mequon Wisconsin, have beaten the odds. June 2, 2019, they will celebrate a Golden Wedding Anniversary of a life spent together, as well as their accomplishments with love and commitment for the last 50 years. Both Ron and Lillian were born in Milwaukee and attended Milwaukee Public Schools. Ron enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after high school graduation and Lillian became a freshman at University of Wisconsin- Platteville. Ron Lawrence, a Vietnam War veteran and Lillian Williams, a graduate of UW-Platteville were married in June of 1969.
Ron Lawrence was the first African American broker/ salesman to work at Wauwatosa Realty (Shorewest Realtors). He worked there for several years. He established Ebony Remodeling & Construction Company, which he later renamed Ebony Builders, LLC. Ebony Builders, a minority-owned construction company, focused on building affordable housing in Milwaukee’s central city. Ebony Builders developed and built the Booker Ashe Subdivision single family homes; the Ezekiel Subdivision single family homes; the West End Development single family fomes and two Burger King Restaurants. Numerous other projects, schools, businesses and churches were built and/or remodeled by Ebony Builders throughout the city of Milwaukee. In January, 2019, Ron Lawrence retired after 45 years in the real estate, construction and remodeling industry.
Lillian Lawrence served as a Police and Fire Commissioner in the city of Mequon for eight years. She was a classroom teacher and a program implementer for Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) for 32 years. Before retirement, she coauthored Assessment Portfolios for Elementary Students in collaboration with MPS. This curriculum was used by more than 12,000 students each year at the time of her retirement. After retiring from MPS, she worked with Milwaukee Teacher Education Center (MTEC) for fifteen years. She worked with MTEC as an assessor and mentor of public and charter school classroom teachers and teacher interns. Lillian also worked as a point person for Professional Learning Communities and as an academic coordinator for Community Learning Centers. She was an adjutant professor at Cardinal Stritch University, and a professor in the graduate school at Lakeland University before retiring in 2017.
Ron and Lillian are both cancer survivors and attribute their years of marriage together and their accomplishments over the last 50 years to having the favor of God over their lives. The Lawrence family has lived in Mequon for 45 years. They have one daughter, Tiffini and two grandchildren, Justice and Lauryn.
