John Robert Lawn

John “Bob” Robert Lawn, age 83, of Annapolis, Maryland passed into eternal rest on January 24th, 2026, after a weeks-long battle with complications resulting from a stroke.

Bob was born in Annapolis, Maryland, on November 17th, 1942, to John Vincent Lawn and Mary Louise Lawn. He was raised in a loving, crowded home in Curtis Bay, Maryland, which grew to hold nine children, with Bob as the eldest of six boys and three girls.

While attending City College of Baltimore, Bob fell in love with and married Rosella Raker, whom he had known since childhood. She would become his devoted wife of 62 years. Following this, Bob had a successful career in the Navy in the early 60s. Despite the extra danger, he volunteered to serve on a submarine, which led to his stationing in the Mediterranean Sea and other foreign locations.

In 1962, Bob welcomed his daughter, Shari. Bob would send home a substantial portion of his Navy salary to provide for his wife and newborn daughter, keeping only for himself the amount required for basic necessities, and the occasional beer.

While serving in the Navy, his crew was approached by researchers affiliated with NASA’s Apollo Program. They wanted to test the aptitude of Seaman in interpreting and creating software and gave his crew a test to measure this ability. Bob was one of the few crew members to score highly on the test, which led to a rapid career transition from “scraping paint off a ship”, as he put it, to designing software and configuring early-generation computer systems in support of NASA’s Apollo missions to land a man on the moon. This was the start of a long, lucrative career that would span seven decades. Bob excelled in various engineering, advanced systems/software design, and technical writing capacities at several well-known government entities and defense contractors, including NASA Goddard, the Social Security Administration, Gould Electronics, Lockheed Martin, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In 1969, Bob welcomed his son, Dave. After several moves and job changes, in 1977 the family settled into a home on Fairwood Drive in Pasadena, Maryland, where they would raise their children and remain for the next forty-five years. In his free-time, Bob could be found working on a multitude of projects around the house, successfully building a screened-in porch and two-car garage while also contributing to the construction of the Fairwood community pool with the help of his son Dave. Dave and Shari would enjoy the spoils of his labor; their teenage years were filled with vacations to Ocean City, camping trips, and boating on the Magothy River with their friends. Bob and Rosella also began sponsoring Midshipmen at this time. They hosted a total of five in their home over a ten-year period, and bonded so strongly with them that they would remain in contact over the remainder of their lives.

After their children moved out of the house, Bob and Rosella took advantage of their newfound freedom and indulged their shared interest in travel, visiting various countries across Europe, the Caribbean, and the U.S. state of Hawaii, which became Bob’s favorite vacation spot. He particularly enjoyed the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui, and took a liking to Maria Lanakila Catholic Church, which miraculously survived the fire that devastated the town in 2023.

In 1998, Bob welcomed his first grandson, Kyle, and would be blessed with his second grandson, Dylan, only two years later. Popop, as he would come to be known by his grandchildren, was a central figure in their life, selflessly engaging them in whatever interests they displayed. For Kyle, this meant many hours spent fishing in various bodies of water around Maryland. For Dylan, this was early-morning trips to the Pasadena flea market to collect small pieces of Americana and Vinyl records and setting up model trains in the basement.

In 2005, around the time Bob retired from work, Bob and Rosella purchased a beach house on the outskirts of Bethany Beach, Delaware. Here, they were free to experience retirement by embracing their love of the ocean and their family, often inviting their children and grandchildren down for weekends spent exploring the trails at the nearby Ecological Preserve, enjoying swimming and ping-pong at the community clubhouse, and eating at local restaurants as a family.

A selfless man with a strong dedication to God, Bob was a lifelong Catholic who passed the teachings and wisdom of God down to his children and grandchildren by embodying generosity and compassion. Toward the end of Bob’s life, when his daughter suffered paralysis due to a motorcycle accident, he opened his home to her without hesitation and spent a large portion of his time caring for her medical needs. He also took the liberty of creating the Lawn Family calendar every year, which we all greatly appreciated. The kindness he showed his family was a gift to us all and will be dearly missed. We will always remember his warm laugh, caring nature, and proud spirit.

Bob is survived by his devoted wife of 62 years, Rosella (Raker) Lawn, and their two beloved children: Shari Lawn of Annapolis, MD and David Lawn and his wife Shirl of Bel Air, MD. He also leaves behind his grandson, Kyle Lawn of Baltimore, MD, along with his brothers: Gary Lawn of Pasadena, MD; Jim Lawn of Berlin, MD; Mike Lawn of Hattiesburg, MS; and Pat Lawn of Finksburg, MD. He is also survived by his sisters: Carol Jackson of Blufton, SC; Sue Deaver of Pasadena, MD; and Donna Lawn of Pasadena, MD. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, John and Mary Lawn; his brother, Danny Lawn; as well as his grandson, Dylan Lawn.

The family is incredibly grateful to the staff of the ICU department at Anne Arundel Medical Center, who provided Bob with an excellent standard of care during his battle with stroke complications, and to the comfort care provided by Harbor Hospital Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, the family is accepting and appreciating your thoughts and prayers.

Family and friends are invited to visit the family owned and operated McCully Polyniak & Collins Funeral Home, P.A. 3204 Mountain Road Pasadena, Maryland 21122 on Saturday February 7, 2026, from 10AM until 12 Noon. A funeral service with military honors will begin at 12 Noon.