Politics & Government

Colleagues Remember Late City Manager John Lawrence

"His footprint is very large here" after 21 years of service in Dunedin.

John Lawrence may have served as Dunedin's city manager for 21 years, but he was "a firefighter at heart."

Fire Chief Bud Meyer said that during Lawrence's tenure with the city, he asked for a pager and would show up at all sorts of emergencies, from dumpster fires to building fires.

"The only problem was he wouldn't stand across the street, he wanted to go in," Meyer said.

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Other city employees shared their remembrances of Lawrence at Thursday night's city commission meeting. Lawrence died last month in Georgia after battling liver disease. He was 66.

Commissioner Julie Scales said Lawrence played a big role in making Dunedin a place people love.

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"His footprint is very large here," Scales said.

Lawrence, who retired in 2005, had been living in Powder Springs, GA, where he worked as a special projects coordinator for the city and also taught at a local university. He is survived by his wife, Jo Pamela, two sons and a granddaughter.

A memorial service will be held in honor of Lawrence in Dunedin this spring.

Said Meyer: "We're going to miss him."

Related Coverage:

Former City Manager John Lawrence Dies


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