Nick Lawless, Jr.

Walter Nicholas Lawless, Jr, age 90 years, passed away peacefully after a brief illness on March 19, 2019 in Baton Rouge, LA.  Nick is survived by his son Paul Lawless and daughter-in-law Erin, grand-children Maeve and Caroline; daughter Teresa Missildine, and grand-children Korry, Katlin, and Nicole.  He is also survived by two sisters, Mary Lawless Weigel and husband Joe of Kansas City, MO, and Sister Delia Lawless, SCL of Leavenworth, KS.  He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Mary McLain Lawless and by his parents Walter Nicholas, Sr and Stella Oliaro Lawless.  Nick was a native of Kansas City, KS but lived half of his life in Baton Rouge.  He was a Korean War Veteran of the United States Air Force, serving nine years of active and reserve duty.  After returning from Korea, he was stationed at Bryan Field in Texas where he attended Texas A&M University.  Upon leaving active duty, he finished his BA in Business at St Benedicts College in Atchison, Kansas where he was also a member of the tennis team.  After working in Kansas City, his employment with IMCO, a plastics subsidiary of Ethyl Corporation, brought him to Baton Rouge.  After retiring from Ethyl, he went on to work for the State of Louisiana, and ultimately part-time at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport Information Desk until his death.  He was an avid reader of spy and mystery novels.  Nick was active in his Catholic faith from his youth until his death, and that faith formed the cornerstone of his life.  He participated as a St Peter’s Parish altar boy in his youth, serving as a lector at several parishes, and was finally as an Usher at St Jean Vianney Parish in Baton Rouge.   Nick participated in amateur sports throughout his life and enjoyed bowling and tennis the most.  While he liked the competitive nature of sports, he was driven by the social activity of partners, teams, and tournaments.  With age, he had to stop playing tennis, but continued to bowl until several weeks before he passed.  A baseball fan from his youth, he attended many Kansas City Blues (AAA), Athletics, Royals, and LSU baseball games.  The two baseball highlights of his life were being able to attend a 1938 Cub’s World Series game with his Uncle Paul and a 1986 Royals World Series game with his sister Delia.  Upon moving to Baton Rouge, Nick quickly became an LSU fan.  He was an avid horse racing fan and followed the Prep, the Triple Crown, and Breeders Cup races every year as if they were part of the liturgical calendar.  While in the hospital, the last things he checked in the Advocate were the March Madness Bracket, who LSU was playing, and what the latest Fair Grounds results were.  Above all, it was the friendships that he formed from marriage, work, church, and sports that he truly appreciated.  Visitation and Funeral Mass will be held at St Jean Vianney Catholic Church at 16166 S Harrell’s Ferry road on Saturday, March 30th, 2019.  Visitation will begin at 11 AM with Mass following at 1 PM.  Officiant will be Father Tom Ranzino.  Burial will be with his wife in Kansas.