Mary Jane Lawton, 85, of Belvidere, IL died peacefully, December 30, 2022, in Belvidere, IL. She was born, March 23, 1937, in Belvidere, daughter to Charles and Gertrude (Hyser) McClenthen Sr. Mary graduated from Belvidere High School in 1956 and worked for AG Communication, previously GTE, in the communications department for 37 years. She retired in 2002. Mary enjoyed fishing, hunting, metal detecting, slot machines and taking trips out west. She loved her family and was a devoted mom for many years!

Mary is loved and will be missed by her daughter, Julie Arwood of Rockford; son, Mike Lawton of Rockford; daughter, Ginger and Lane Balderree of Whitesboro, TX; daughter, Penny (Ron) Steadman of Belvidere; brothers, Robert, Jake, Carl, Roy, Rex, Don, David, Daniel and Joe McClenthen; sisters, Blanch Williams, Rose Austin, Edna Strang, Shirley Handt, and Betty McClenthen; grandchildren, Ann McClung, Jessica Hall, William Warner Jr., Joshua Warner, Cindy Grzybowski, Mary Jocobi, Joseph Lawton, Chad White, Jonathon White, Heather Merritt, Brooke East, Amber Prouty, Jenny Sorensen and Dawn Anderson; 23 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews.

Mary is preceded in death by her parents, brothers, Charles and Clark McClenthen; sister, Debbie McClenthen; great-grandson, Roman Jr.; nephews, Jeff Dietrich, Tim Schultz and Eric McClenthen; niece, Angie Montgomery; and ex husband, Meryle Lawton.

A celebration of life will be on January 27, 2023, at the VFW. To share a memory, please visit www.andersonfcs.com