Lawrence George Tierney

WINSTON-SALEM - Lawrence George Tierney, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 15, 1946 and passed away in Frankfurt, Germany on August 11, 2023.

Lawrence is survived by a loving family that was the focus of his life. He and his wife, Nancy, spent their nearly 51-year marriage raising a family and embarking on many adventures together traversing nearly every state. He is also survived by his wonderful and devoted children: Lawrence Jr of Roseville, MN; Kyle (Nicole) of Adelaide, Australia; Bryan (Baejin) of Gilbert, AZ and their children Ray and Luna, who were Grandpa’s very cherished grandchildren. Brothers in law Herman Nolting and Daniel (Christine) Maloney also survive him. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Karen and Lynda.

Following service with the US Army in Germany, he studied mathematics and electrical engineering and spent a 30-year career with Wisconsin Telephone/Ameritech/AT&T. He was especially proud of his work designing and engineering the implementation of the first voicemail system in the US, with the first test line being installed in his own home. He also collaborated with mathematicians and computer scientists from Bell Labs and universities in the US, Singapore, China and New Zealand. Interrupting retirement in Gilbert, AZ, he was recruited by Cox Communications to expand their enterprises into the telephone industry. After retiring a second time and spending nineteen years in Arizona, he moved to North Carolina where he had visited many times on work related endeavors. He enjoyed living in Winston-Salem on the edge of the woods and close to nature. As a member of the Northern Nut Growers Association, he had participated in acclimating and growing pecan trees in his Wisconsin yard, and his Arizona and North Carolina yards were also filled with a large variety of trees. He now also had a home with a basement workshop again and enjoyed many hours puttering on projects and wood working.

He was active in Scouting in Wisconsin and Arizona for many years as a Cubmaster, Scoutmaster and District Chairperson. He served as the Communication Chairperson for two National Scout Jamborees. He was very proud to see his three sons achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.

If you desire to make a donation in Lawrence’s memory, please consider the Nature Conservancy or the Arbor Day Foundation.

Services: November 10, 2023 at St Matthias Parish, 9306 W Beloit Rd, Milwaukee, WI

Visitation at 11 am, Mass at Noon