Gladys Wilkinson was born in Nebraska on May 30, 1894. She travelled abroad in 1910 and 1913. As a student at the University of Nebraska, she was a charter member of the Pi chapter of Gamma Phi Beta when it was installed on June 22, 1915. She was also active in the University Players, the Dramatic Club, and Delta Omicron honorary music sorority. She did post graduate work at Smith College and Indiana University.
In 1920 she attended the 8th Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance which met in Geneva, Switzerland. Later that year, she married Paul William Lawrence on Tuesday, November 2, 1920, Election Day. She wore a white velvet and satin bridal gown trimmed in old lace with a solid cord of Roman river pearls. The veil was a family heirloom made of Carackmacross lace and her gloves were of old Venetian lace.
Early in their marriage, the couple lived in several Iowa cities. Their only child, Paul, Jr., was born in Des Moines two years to the day after his parents’ marriage. From 1923 until 1925, she was installation officer for Delta Omicron. She would serve the organization as manager of two conventions and as editor of its magazine for eight years.
Lawrence attended Gamma Phi’s 50th anniversary convention which was held in June of 1924. She was living in Burlington, Iowa, at the time. The Lawrences moved to Los Angeles in January of 1925. They founded a company, Lawrence Steel Doors, which is still in business today.
She became a member of the Board of the City Employees Retirement System in 1937 and was its only female member. Lawrence took an active part in the civic and philanthropic affairs of Los Angeles. A founder of the National Charity League, she created its Ticktocker group for mothers and daughters. She began a civic beautification movement for the Woman’s Service Auxiliary of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Lawrence was president of the Los Angeles branch of the National Flower and Fruit Guild, among many other volunteer projects.
An article in the February 1939 Crescent of Gamma Phi Beta called her the “busiest Gamma Phi in Los Angeles.” Her friends said she possessed “a driving force that keeps her busy and competent in a dozen fields of endeavor. Coupled with this energy is a great enthusiasm and a loyalty to her friends and to Gamma Phi.” She did a stint as President of the LA Alumnae chapter and she was the force behind the group forming the Assistance League’s Motor Corps.
Lawrence was the first President of the Los Angeles Nebraska Alumnae, which during her tenure had 2,000 members. She was a member of the Smith College Alumnae in Los Angeles and the American Association of University Women.
When her husband became ill before his death in 1951, she and her son took over the management of the family business. Starting in 1947, when she was on the first Pan Am commercial international flight, she took more than 37 trips around the world primarily for business reasons.
In a 1958 article, she said, “Gamma Phi has always been very dear to me and has made my life much lovelier in every way.” Lawrence died on March 11, 1987 and is interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
