Obituary of Allan Cleave Lawrence
On Monday morning, May 15, 2017, Allan Cleave Lawrence, 86, better known as “Coach Al”, lost his courageous battle to pancreatic cancer at home peacefully, surrounded by family.
He was born in Punchbowl, New South Wales, Australia, on July 9, 1930. As an Australian Olympian, he won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meter race in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics. In 1958 he enrolled at the University of Houston, where he won the NCAA cross-country national championships in 1959 and 1960, and the 1959 and 1960 AAU cross-country national championships as well. In 1960 he set a world record in the indoor 2-mile; six days later he won the AAU indoor 3-mile race in another world record time.
In 1963, he graduated cum laude from the University of Houston and went back to Australia briefly before returning to Houston and beginning a career in educational media. In 1977, he returned to running, quickly became a national champion masters’ runner, and took up private coaching as a profession. In 1978, he was elected to the University of Houston Sports Hall of Fame. He recently received the Houston Area Road Runners Association Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into The Houston Marathon Hall of Fame. He is the co-author of three popular running books and the author of an autobiography, Olympus and Beyond. Besides running and coaching, Al loved gardening and reading.
He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Connie Lawrence; their son, Allan T. Lawrence; daughters, Kristine Berger and husband, Raymond of Houston, Sharon Ainsworth and husband, Ryan of Little Rock, Arkansas; grandchildren, Abbie Berger of Austin, and John Michael Berger of Houston. He is also survived by sisters, Jean Clark, Barbara Lawrence, and brother, Robert Lawrence, all from Australia; many nieces and nephews, and several thousand runners who love him.
Special thanks to Dr. Matthew Katz and Dr. Gauri Varadhachary and their Team at MD Anderson who, for awhile, gave our beloved Al an extended quality of life.
Viewing will be Thursday, May 18, 2017 from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Joseph J. Earthman Generations, 234 Westcott, Houston, Texas 77007.
A Celebration of Coach Al’s life will be Friday, May 19, 2017 at 10:00 am at the A.D. Bruce Religion Center Chapel, University of Houston.
Honored to serve as Pallbearers are Joseph Robert Shannon, Mark Scheid, Robert Cozens, George Rankin, John McDaniel, Walt Yarrow, Raymond Berger, and Ryan Ainsworth. Honorary Pallbearer will be Dr. Herb Fred.
Burial will follow immediately at Glenwood Cemetery, 2525 Washington Avenue, Houston, Texas 77007.
A reception will be at the home of Christie and Ed Billings, 1922 Bell, Houston, TX 77019.
Please consider a donation to The University of Houston Cougars Cross Country and Track & Field program or to the MD Anderson Cancer Research Center.
