Jacqueline Eva Alexander Lawson April 4, 1928 – July 15, 2021
Jacqueline born in Seattle on April 4, 1928, to Irene Eva Harvey Alexander and Ernest Alexander, passed away at home on July 15, 2021. Jacqueline (Jackie) married Walter Vernon Lawson, and had 3 children, Gwendolyn Eva Lawson Townsend, Ronald Charles Lawson, and Michael David Lawson. Jackie’s accomplishments included photography, being the first Black certified genealogist in the Pacific Northwest, a trained oral interviewer and transcriber, and specializing in genealogical research which led to 6 books, many articles, and a curriculum intitled “Genealogy 101.” She was founder and Chair of the Collections Committee of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State, Inc., an aide at the Pacific-Alaska Region National Archives and at the Museum Of History And Industry, and co-founder of the Seattle Black Genealogy Research Group. Her expertise was freely shared but her enthusiasm as the family griot was written and oral history of her family. Jacqueline’s memory and legacy is cherished by her 3 children, 14 grandchildren, 80 great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, and a host of other relatives and friends. Services will be held on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at the Greater Glory Ministries (6419 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South in Seattle) at 10:30am (viewing will only be done from 9:00-10:00am). Seattle Times Published on July 27, 2021
God Bless and be with her family at this hard time. What a legacy she left for all to enjoy and learn from. An inspiration to us all!
What an inheritance to her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the fact that she achieved much in difficult times! A woman we can all honor-Jacqueline Alexander Lawson. A genealogist that showed that even though tracing ethnic African roots can be difficult she met those brick walls head on and climbed over those walls. Her children and grandchildren should be very proud to call her mother, grandmother and probably sister and aunt to others.