1959
Jan
2013
Jan Lawyer
July 7, 1959 — December 15, 2013
”Do you need anything?” followed by an infectious smile and “it’s all good” are the words for which Jan Lawyer was most noted.
Jan Hunter Lawyer, 54, passed from his earthly life at Hospice of Frederick County in Mount Airy, MD on Sunday, December 15, 2013 following a courageous battle with cancer.
Born July 7, 1959 in Thurmont MD, he was the sixth child of Mary Fraley Lawyer and the late Strafford Hunter Lawyer. He is survived by one daughter, Taylor Brooke Huffman and husband Brandon; and one son, J. Hunter Lawyer. Both children reside at the home farm and served with him in the operations of his farm and businesses.
Jan loved growing up on the farm and at age 16 chose farming as his future. An ethic of hard work was instilled in him by his parents and his work habits would exhaust the average person. He began as a dairy farmer on the home farm and later expanded to Winterbrook Farms, a large custom hay farming operation.
Jan followed in the footsteps of his dad with his entrepreneurial ability to take on challenges and develop new businesses. He always did everything in a very big way, be it a business venture of building custom homes, or raising 30,000 turkeys at a time to send to market. This trait carried over in to his personal life with his spectacular and crazy ways of celebrating friends and families special occasions.
Jan is most known for developing Lawyer’s Moonlight Maze, one of the first of its kind and the largest maze in Maryland. He loved building things and decided to build pumpkin cannons as an added attraction to the maze. His creative genius became most evident when he used his welding skills to take junk and scrap metal and transform it into amazing sculptures that became targets for the cannons. His sculptures now serve as a landmark known far and wide on route 550 in Thurmont.
Jan’s pride and joy was the Mathwig farm on Graceham Road where he turned the barn into a place for people to enjoy their special occasions in a beautiful, rustic farm setting. The Mathwig Estate Event Barn is named to honor his good friend Judge Martin Mathwig.
Jan had a special way of making work seem like fun for his children and many nieces and nephews who have lots of stories to tell about their “adventures” on the farm. Jan had a starring role in the many Lawyer Family movie productions that we will cherish forever.
Jan’s hard work day always began with donuts and a stop at his brothers’ garages to ask, “Do you need anything?” This philosophy of helping others extended not only to his own family, but to countless people in the community.
In addition to his mother and two children, Jan is survived by his sister, Mary Ellen Bittner and husband Richard; sister, Joan Strafford Spalding and husband Donald; brother, Strafford Hunter Lawyer and wife Patti; sister, Barbara Lawyer Briggs and husband Milton; and brother, David Milton Lawyer and wife Candy. All five siblings reside in Thurmont within a few miles of the home farm.
He is also survived by his niece Ellen Williams and husband Terry; nephew David Bittner and wife Jennifer; nephew Thaddeus Bittner and wife Melissa; niece Lisa Cambpell and husband Todd; nephew Mark Spalding and wife Debbie; nephew Chad Lawyer and wife Jodi; niece Monica Crone and husband Mike; niece Kathleen Joyner; nieces Jennifer and Mary Lawyer; nephew Brent Lawyer and wife Renee; niece Heather Lawyer; nephew Mitchell Lawyer; and the sons and daughters of his nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Hospice of Frederick County 7000 Kimmel Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771 (301) 829-0459.
Friends and family are invited to a Celebration of Life gathering to honor Jan on Saturday December 28th at 5:30pm held at the Lewistown Fire Company Community Center located at 11101 Hessong Bridge Rd, Frederick, MD 21701 (301) 898-9988.
After a memorial dedication at 6:00pm by Pastor Linda Lambert, there will be a fellowship time to share memories of Jan and food with the Lawyer family.
Arrangements by Stauffer Funeral Homes, P.A. of Thurmont. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.staufferfuneralhome.com.
Jan Hunter Lawyer, 54, passed from his earthly life at Hospice of Frederick County in Mount Airy, MD on Sunday, December 15, 2013 following a courageous battle with cancer.
Born July 7, 1959 in Thurmont MD, he was the sixth child of Mary Fraley Lawyer and the late Strafford Hunter Lawyer. He is survived by one daughter, Taylor Brooke Huffman and husband Brandon; and one son, J. Hunter Lawyer. Both children reside at the home farm and served with him in the operations of his farm and businesses.
Jan loved growing up on the farm and at age 16 chose farming as his future. An ethic of hard work was instilled in him by his parents and his work habits would exhaust the average person. He began as a dairy farmer on the home farm and later expanded to Winterbrook Farms, a large custom hay farming operation.
Jan followed in the footsteps of his dad with his entrepreneurial ability to take on challenges and develop new businesses. He always did everything in a very big way, be it a business venture of building custom homes, or raising 30,000 turkeys at a time to send to market. This trait carried over in to his personal life with his spectacular and crazy ways of celebrating friends and families special occasions.
Jan is most known for developing Lawyer’s Moonlight Maze, one of the first of its kind and the largest maze in Maryland. He loved building things and decided to build pumpkin cannons as an added attraction to the maze. His creative genius became most evident when he used his welding skills to take junk and scrap metal and transform it into amazing sculptures that became targets for the cannons. His sculptures now serve as a landmark known far and wide on route 550 in Thurmont.
Jan’s pride and joy was the Mathwig farm on Graceham Road where he turned the barn into a place for people to enjoy their special occasions in a beautiful, rustic farm setting. The Mathwig Estate Event Barn is named to honor his good friend Judge Martin Mathwig.
Jan had a special way of making work seem like fun for his children and many nieces and nephews who have lots of stories to tell about their “adventures” on the farm. Jan had a starring role in the many Lawyer Family movie productions that we will cherish forever.
Jan’s hard work day always began with donuts and a stop at his brothers’ garages to ask, “Do you need anything?” This philosophy of helping others extended not only to his own family, but to countless people in the community.
In addition to his mother and two children, Jan is survived by his sister, Mary Ellen Bittner and husband Richard; sister, Joan Strafford Spalding and husband Donald; brother, Strafford Hunter Lawyer and wife Patti; sister, Barbara Lawyer Briggs and husband Milton; and brother, David Milton Lawyer and wife Candy. All five siblings reside in Thurmont within a few miles of the home farm.
He is also survived by his niece Ellen Williams and husband Terry; nephew David Bittner and wife Jennifer; nephew Thaddeus Bittner and wife Melissa; niece Lisa Cambpell and husband Todd; nephew Mark Spalding and wife Debbie; nephew Chad Lawyer and wife Jodi; niece Monica Crone and husband Mike; niece Kathleen Joyner; nieces Jennifer and Mary Lawyer; nephew Brent Lawyer and wife Renee; niece Heather Lawyer; nephew Mitchell Lawyer; and the sons and daughters of his nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Hospice of Frederick County 7000 Kimmel Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771 (301) 829-0459.
Friends and family are invited to a Celebration of Life gathering to honor Jan on Saturday December 28th at 5:30pm held at the Lewistown Fire Company Community Center located at 11101 Hessong Bridge Rd, Frederick, MD 21701 (301) 898-9988.
After a memorial dedication at 6:00pm by Pastor Linda Lambert, there will be a fellowship time to share memories of Jan and food with the Lawyer family.
Arrangements by Stauffer Funeral Homes, P.A. of Thurmont. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.staufferfuneralhome.com.
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