Son of Buck and Nettie Lawrence. Earned his nickname of "Big Boy" due to his stocky size and strength. An avid hunter and fisherman while growing up, he was a master at both sports. His Stevens "Crackshot" .22 rifle, a gun he used to help feed his younger brothers and parents, is still in our family. He also was a known "noodler" when he was a young man, going under the water for long periods of time and then surfacing with a large catfish he had caught with his bare hands. Claude was also an above average baseball player as a teen. He taught his youngest brother, Glenn Lawrence, to swim by picking him up and tossing him into North Creek in Warner, OK telling him to "Swim or drown!" He swam!
Claude also was a coon hunter and enjoyed running his dogs on a coon hunt at night or competing against other coon-dog owners. He once put his dog up against a dog owned by movie and TV star Roy Rogers and while his dog clearly won the event, the prize went to Rogers. Claude was not too happy about it and said he'd never watch another Roy Rogers show.
Claude and his first wife Reba moved to California in the late 1930's as part of the "Okies" that went there looking for better work than what was available in Oklahoma. He worked on farms and in the shipyards, eventually landing a position with International Harvester with whom he worked for until he retired.
Claude and Reba had the following children:
Geneva, Dora Juanita, James Edward, Robert Wayne and Nancy Bettylou.
Married first Reba Judkins in Porum, OK. Married secondly Mabel Downing in California.
Claude also was a coon hunter and enjoyed running his dogs on a coon hunt at night or competing against other coon-dog owners. He once put his dog up against a dog owned by movie and TV star Roy Rogers and while his dog clearly won the event, the prize went to Rogers. Claude was not too happy about it and said he'd never watch another Roy Rogers show.
Claude and his first wife Reba moved to California in the late 1930's as part of the "Okies" that went there looking for better work than what was available in Oklahoma. He worked on farms and in the shipyards, eventually landing a position with International Harvester with whom he worked for until he retired.
Claude and Reba had the following children:
Geneva, Dora Juanita, James Edward, Robert Wayne and Nancy Bettylou.
Married first Reba Judkins in Porum, OK. Married secondly Mabel Downing in California.
Son of Buck and Nettie Lawrence. Earned his nickname of "Big Boy" due to his stocky size and strength. An avid hunter and fisherman while growing up, he was a master at both sports. His Stevens "Crackshot" .22 rifle, a gun he used to help feed his younger brothers and parents, is still in our family. He also was a known "noodler" when he was a young man, going under the water for long periods of time and then surfacing with a large catfish he had caught with his bare hands. Claude was also an above average baseball player as a teen. He taught his youngest brother, Glenn Lawrence, to swim by picking him up and tossing him into North Creek in Warner, OK telling him to "Swim or drown!" He swam!
Claude also was a coon hunter and enjoyed running his dogs on a coon hunt at night or competing against other coon-dog owners. He once put his dog up against a dog owned by movie and TV star Roy Rogers and while his dog clearly won the event, the prize went to Rogers. Claude was not too happy about it and said he'd never watch another Roy Rogers show.
Claude and his first wife Reba moved to California in the late 1930's as part of the "Okies" that went there looking for better work than what was available in Oklahoma. He worked on farms and in the shipyards, eventually landing a position with International Harvester with whom he worked for until he retired.
Claude and Reba had the following children:
Geneva, Dora Juanita, James Edward, Robert Wayne and Nancy Bettylou.
Married first Reba Judkins in Porum, OK. Married secondly Mabel Downing in California.
Claude also was a coon hunter and enjoyed running his dogs on a coon hunt at night or competing against other coon-dog owners. He once put his dog up against a dog owned by movie and TV star Roy Rogers and while his dog clearly won the event, the prize went to Rogers. Claude was not too happy about it and said he'd never watch another Roy Rogers show.
Claude and his first wife Reba moved to California in the late 1930's as part of the "Okies" that went there looking for better work than what was available in Oklahoma. He worked on farms and in the shipyards, eventually landing a position with International Harvester with whom he worked for until he retired.
Claude and Reba had the following children:
Geneva, Dora Juanita, James Edward, Robert Wayne and Nancy Bettylou.
Married first Reba Judkins in Porum, OK. Married secondly Mabel Downing in California.
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