Nora Theresa Lawlor

Nora Theresa Lawlor (nee Tully) was born in Carroweena, Killasser, County Mayo, Ireland on September 18, 1918. Her parents were John Tully and Mary Tully (nee Ruane) and she was the youngest of their thirteen children. Nora immigrated to Chicago in 1948, where she joined nine of her brothers and sisters. She met her beloved Patrick Lawlor at a dance (he asked her for a dance, something she lovingly remembered in her final days) and they were married on April 26, 1952, and were married until Nora’s passing. Pat and Nora moved to Phoenix not long after they were wed and call it home to this day. They are the proud parents of Linda, William (Bill), Noreen, and Mary Pat (Joe Cederna) and the even prouder grandparents of Mike and Maria Asimakis (Linda), Hannah and Danny Gabos (Noreen), and Saoirse Lawlor (Mary Pat Lawlor and Joe Cederna). Nora and Pat helped start Phoenix’s Irish Community in the early 50’s—fiirst called The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, then the Irish American Social Club— and have been honored many times throughout the years for their support and dedication to the Irish in the Valley of the Sun. In the early years living in Phoenix, Sunday nights saw Irish friends getting together—taking turns from house to house. This “rúla búla” (Gaelic meaning uproar and commotion while celebrating and having fun) is a cherished memory of Pat and Nora’s children. When not hosting, Nora’s rule of never showing up at someone’s house “with one arm as long as the other” meant always bringing something when invited to someone’s home. A wonderful quality her children think highly of and try to emulate. So, how did an Irish girl from a very tiny village in rural Ireland end up in Phoenix, Arizona? That story is like one of many millions of immigrants who left their home to start a new one in the United States. While Patrick and Nora are as proud to be Irish as anyone can be, there are no prouder Americans than the two of them. Nora is cherished and will never be forgotten. In closing we leave with her favorite quote in Irish: Briseann an dúchais trí shúile an chait (“Breeding will break out in the eyes of a cat”).

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 from 5:00-8:00 P.M., with Scripture Service at 7:00 P.M., at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix. Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 10:00 A.M., St. Theresa Catholic Church, 5045 E. Thomas Rd., Phoenix. Interment to follow at St. Francis Cemetery, 2033 N. 48th St., Phoenix