South Bend – Lawrence Szymanski, 74 years old, passed away unexpectedly in his home on Friday, October 14, 2022. Lawrence was born May 29, 1948 in South Bend to the late Bert and Sallie (Kopczynski) Szymanski.
Left to cherish the memories of Lawrence are his siblings, Duane (Louise) Szymanski of Columbus, IN, Joyce Butler of Rensselaer, IN, and Beverly (John) Barry of Covington, IN; nephews, Tom (Erin) Szymanski, Craig (Karen) Szymanski, Michael (Natalie Doyne) Barry, and Robert (Kristin) Butler; his niece, Jackie (Richard) Miller; great-nieces and nephews, Mikendra, Jackson, Liv, Daniel, Owen, Eliza and Margot.
Lawrence was a lifelong resident of South Bend. He worked in education teaching wood-working and math for 44 years, primarily at John Adams High School. He also loved helping out in the drama department. Lawrence loved fishing, wood-working, building bird houses, cooking, gardening, and visiting minor league baseball stadiums. He loved to travel to Europe and all 48 contiguous states throughout his life. Lawrence was full of life and would take every opportunity he could to make the most of it. He had many accomplishments in his life, these can be read on the funeral home website.
Visitation for Lawrence will be held from 11:00am – 2:00pm Tuesday, October 18, 2022 with a funeral service starting at 2:00pm all at St. Joseph Funeral Home, 824 S. Mayflower Rd. A private burial service will take place at a later date.
Memorial donations may be made in honor of Lawrence Szymanski to PBS WNIT, 300 West Jefferson Boulevard, South Bend, Indiana 46601, and Camp Millhouse, 25600 Kelly Rd, South Bend, IN 46614.
Condolences may be made to the family at www.sjfh.net
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF LAWRENCE SZYMANSKI
During his high school career, Lawrence earned seven (7) Varsity Athletics Letters during his first three (3) years of attendance at Greene Township High School. Baseball was his best sport. Lawrence did not participate in any sports his senior year because he had a nightly job in a factory starting at 4:30pm making corrugated (cardboard) boxes.
Lawrence had one (1) employer his entire college career during his college vacations. He had a job at the corrugated box factory waiting for him anytime he returned home from college: Winter Break, Spring Break, and Summer Vacation. Lawrence worked every week he was home from college. The work week was fifty-eight (58) hours. Monday thru Friday was a ten (10) hour work day. Saturday was an additional eight (8) hours. As a result of his hours of work along with his frugality and the financial help of his parents, Lawrence graduated from college with more money in his bank account than when he started his college career.
Lawrence graduated from Indiana State University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science Degree (BS) in Industrial Arts Education in the allotted time granted by the Selective Service Department of the USA, four (4) years. He had a student (2S) deferment. (His college career was during the Vietnam War.) Since Lawrence switched from a Math Major to an Industrial Arts Major, he had to petition the University several times to enroll in more classes than normally allowed per semester to graduate 'on time'. As a result, Lawrence graduated with eight (8) more credit hours than required for his degree.
After starting his teaching career in 1970, Lawrence completed a Master's of Science Degree (MS) in Industrial Arts Education in 1974 by attending three (3) consecutive summer school sessions starting the summer of 1972 at Indiana State University. He also attended several off-campus evening classes during the 1972-1974 teaching school year near his residence to add several required credits to the degree thus negating campus courses during the summer.
Lawrence was granted a LIFE LICENSE by the State of Indiana in 1976 to teach middle and high school Industrial Arts after completing his Masters of Science Degree (MS) in Industrial Arts Education and successfully teaching for six (6) years in that curriculum.
Lawrence was granted an Indiana License Certification to teach Industrial Technology in 1990 by attending several evening accredited classes from 1988 to 1990.
In 1990 he added a Minor Degree in Mathematics to his Masters of Science Degree by attending classes at IUSB (Indiana University South Bend) sixteen (16) years after his last college class at ISU (Indiana State University). Lawrence became dual certified to teach Mathematics and Industrial Technology/Industrial Arts. He qualified for the level of 'Masters +30' on the salary pay schedule of his employer.
Lawrence was employed by ONE (1) employer during his entire working career, The South Bend Community School Corporation (South Bend, Indiana). He taught Industrial Technology/Industrial Arts woodworking, drafting, and metalworking at the high school level. Lawrence also taught Mathematics at the middle and high school levels. He was NEVER accused of any wrongdoing concerning the handling of moneys or relationships with students. He was never reprimanded for any wrongdoings.
During his entire woodworking teacher career, no student was seriously injured with the loss of any part of their body: hand, finger, eye, etc.
For twenty-three (23) years Lawrence was the 'Stage Manager' for theatrical productions at the high school he taught at. Lawrence was in charge of: the building of 'sets'; the coordination and monitoring of the 'back stage' during a performance; and the coordination of lights and sound.
For ten (10) years Lawrence was the 'Stage Manager' of Summer Theatrical productions presented by the SBCSC and also the New Prairie School Corporation (New Prairie, Indiana). The time period from the initial start of building 'sets' for the performance to the final performance and then the 'strike' (disassembly and subsequent storage) of the 'sets' was six (6) weeks. Along with a co-partner, they were in charge of building 'sets', transporting the 'set' to the theatrical venue, the assembly of the 'sets', and then the coordination all backstage production of a 'Musical Comedy' involving upwards of 100 elementary, middle school, and high school students which comprised the cast and backstage production crew members. Finally, his co-partner and himself were in charge of the 'striking' (disassembly) of the 'sets' such that they would be transported back and then stored in an orderly manner so to allow other theatrical productions to use them for future productions.
During Lawrences woodworking career, he personally remodeled the three (3) rooms (shops) in the one high school he taught at in order to meet the needs of his woodshop students: 1971/1976; 1993/1994; 2004/2005. In two (2) of the three (3) remodeling's, Lawrence was instrumental in the design.
In 2009/2010 school year Lawrence designed and remodeled a Drafting Room at the high school he taught at. Part of the remodeling included the building of twenty-four (24) drafting tables thus saving the school corporation approximately $10,000.
In 2007/2008 he designed and remodeled a Metals Lab next to the Construction Technology Lab (woodshop) during a summer vacation. Lawrence worked on the project 61 of the 65 days during the 2008 summer vacation.
In 1970 he bought and subsequently rebuilt/remodeled over several years a 1965 Chevrolet Corvair. The rebuild included an engine rebuild, the installation of a roll bar, and body work with a subsequent new paint job.
From 1970 to 1975 Lawrence competed in and or helped organize 'Road Rallies'/TSD (Time Speed Distance) events. He was awarded several trophies after some of his competitions.
From 1975 through 1978 he purchased, rebuilt, and maintained two 'dirt bikes'. Lawrence competed on both bikes in 'off road' competitions. He earned a third (3rd) place trophy at one of the competitions.
In 1978 Lawrence purchased and have maintained a bungalow (640 sq. ft.) ranch style house since its purchase more than forty (40) years ago in South Bend, Indiana.
After the house purchase, Lawrence constructed more than twenty-five (25) original design, reproduction, and copied pieces of furniture to furnish the above-mentioned house from 1978 to 1985.
In 1981, he added an addition to the garage at the above-mentioned house. The addition doubled the size of the garage.
With the added space in the garage, from 1981to 1984 Lawrence rewired the interior, insulated the interior, and installed a dust collection system to create a woodshop.
From 1981 to 1984 Lawrence purchased approximately fifteen (15) 'industrial' quality woodworking machines to equip the woodshop in the residential garage. All of the machines were purchased 'used'. They were disassembled, repaired, painted, and then reassembled to factory specifications.
During the course of forty (40) or more years of woodworking Lawrence constructed more the 400 hundred pieces of furniture. Most of the furniture pieces were 'reproductions' of various styles of furniture designed in the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Other than the pieces he built for his personal use, the majority of the pieces have been given to family members, friends, and people he felt would like a particular item as a token of friendship.
Lawrence built more than a dozen (12) Grandfather clocks. All of the clocks have a 'German three weight eight-day movement'. He also built more than seventy-five (75) mantle style or wall hanging clocks with various mechanical or electronic movements.
In 1985, Lawrence moved enough of his woodworking equipment to Denver, Colorado to construct a set of kitchen cabinets in the garage of two of his friends during a summer vacation. The cabinets were subsequently featured in a newspaper article.
In 1985 Lawrence learned how to downhill ski and traveled to Colorado several times to enjoy the sport.
From 1986 to 2007 he was the head sponsor of a middle school/high school ski club called The Michiana Ski Club. Students from two high schools and three middle schools participated in the non-sponsored after school activity. One night a week Lawrence took the responsibility for the transportation and well-being of close to 120 students at its height of enrollment to a nearby ski resort during the winter season for fun and recreation.
In 1997 Lawrence remodeled the kitchen of the house he owned for more than the past forty (40) years. The remodel included the addition of counter space, upper and lower cabinets, new cabinet doors, new floor, new lighting fixtures, and a new tri-color paint scheme.
Lawrence traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during the school winter breaks of 1987/1988 and 1989/1990.
He traveled to Western Europe eight (8) times from 1991 through 2016. The length of the trips ranged from ten (10) days to ten and one-half (10 ½) weeks. Lawrence toured sixteen (16) countries and visited more than ninety (90) cities and towns. He made his own itinerary and booked all reservations himself. Other than the first trip in 1991, Lawrence TRAVELED ALONE DURING ALL OF THE OTHER JOURNEYS.
For three summer vacations, 2003-2005, he traveled throughout the Midwest and southern parts of the USA visiting approximately sixty (60) major and minor league baseball parks.
Lawrence visited ALL forty-eight (48) states in the Continental USA. The trips ranged from two and one-half (2 ½) weeks to seven weeks (7) weeks in length. He made his own itinerary and booked all reservations himself. Other than traveling with his parents and siblings during his younger years, Lawrence TRAVELED ALONE DURING THE REST OF THE JOURNEYS.
There have been several articles printed in the South Bend Tribune concerning Lawrence. The first article was about his 'cooking ability' and 'renaissance style' of enjoying life in 1983. The second article concerned the construction of 'locker rooms' for the basketball team at the school Lawrence taught at in 2009. The third article in 2018 was an 'OP/ED' (Opinionated/Editorial) article concerning the unequal distribution of roadway funds in the State of Indiana. And the fourth article in 2020 was a Voice of the People letter concerning the monitoring of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two 'feature' stories concerning Lawrence teaching and woodworking have been broadcasted on television. The first story, broadcasted on a nationally syndicated PBS (Public Broadcast Station) program in 2003, highlighted his high school teaching career and some of the students Lawrence taught. The second story, broadcasted on a local television station 2019, highlighted his unique designs of multi-nested birdhouses.
Lawrence was a generous contributor to Public Television. He also was a 'silent donor' to a few family members and friends he felt 'could use a little help'. HIS PARENTS MADE MANY SACRIFICES SO THAT THEIR CHILDREN COULD BE SUCCESSFUL. IT IS NOW HIS TURN TO GIVE BACK.

11/28/2022 JFC