William Ulrich Lawrence

William Ulrich Lawrence, known to all as Bill, died peacefully at home in Brooklyn, NY, on June 19, 2025. He was 85, and his spirit, curiosity, wit, and engagement with life remained undimmed.
He looked back on his childhood with fondness. Born in Chicago, he spent the World War II years with his mother, Betty Ulrich Lawrence, in Rankin, Indiana, where his grandfather had a drugstore, complete with soda fountain. After his father, Don Lawrence, came home from serving in the Pacific, the family returned to Chicago where Bill grew up and made life-long friendships at York High. But in 1960, when he turned 21, he left the Midwest. He dropped out of the University of Illinois, drove to California, and got ahead of the draft by enlisting in the Navy.
Luck, abetted by gumption, landed him the assignment he craved: journalism, first in San Diego and then on Okinawa where he launched a base newspaper, The Windjammer. It was on Okinawa that he and his first wife, Dorothy, had their son, David, and daughter, Sara, and it was there that Bill discovered his calling after separating from the Navy. He was finishing his bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland's outpost, applying for a master's degree in history at Wayne State University, and, as a civilian, he was tracking cryptographic codes for the Army all the while still putting out The Windjammer. One day, photographs from the United States Information Agency appeared on his desk. When he learned USIA was a branch of the Foreign Service that liaised with local press and academia, organized cultural exchanges and programs, ran libraries,.... the die was cast, and the career that ensued reflected the arc of history.
Within weeks of landing in his first post - Sofia, Bulgaria - the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia. By happenstance, it fell to Junior Officer Bill to draft the protest note and accompany the Ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to lodge it. For the next two years, he engaged with journalists, writers, and students, including many from the Soviet Union; he wowed people with displays on such wonders as the Apollo program; brought in speakers; organized programs; helped professors get Western materials; and all the while made sure not to get anyone he befriended in trouble with the authorities. As he liked to say, he loved the Cold War.
Fast-forward to India, his last posting, where he was part of a large team in Delhi (1988-90) and head of the office in Chennai (1990-92). There, he focused on the business community, addressing intellectual property, trade liberalization, and what later would be called climate change. In a presentation to the Defense and Strategic Studies Department of Madras University, Bill urged his audience to consider man-made environmental changes as potential security threats. What if unchecked erosion, say, silted up harbors and triggered massive flooding? How would India cope with the resulting waves of migrants?
Bill served all but one of his eight tours abroad. Each had its highlights - among them, the thrill of opening a USIS library in Kumasi with a great team of Ghanaians and adding a medical section local doctors highly valued; dealing with sticky issues between the United States and the European Union in Brussels, where he also met and married Lee; and during his tour in the former Yugoslavia, working on a resolution to condemn Cuba for human rights violations at the US Mission to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva (for which USIA Director awarded Bill a special commendation).
At every post, he was recognized for his fast, clear writing. As a manager, Bill trusted the abilities of colleagues and staff; as a confidant, he brought a wider, often wiser perspective; and in just about every situation - from car-pools to social gatherings or staff meetings - his laugh-out-loud one-liners variously entertained, lightened the mood, eased tensions, and generated camaraderie.
Bill retired in 1992 after 30 years in public service. "Your turn now," he told Lee as they settled in Washington, D.C. To help her build a writing career, studied financial planning; he did all the cooking (a real boon, since he was a good cook); collaborated on many a project with Lee and was the best (and most tactful) editor anyone could wish for.
There was much he loved about being back in the U.S., not the least of which proximity of family and friends old and new. But he was also dismayed at many of the political shifts he witnessed, as he made clear over gin martinis or on social media. Still, part of him retained faith in Americans. When he found himself time and again over the last ten years facing health issues, he displayed that same positive attitude.
It is a precious legacy to those who survive him: Lee, his wife; son and daughter-in-law, David and Tanya Lawrence; daughter Sara Cucinotta; grandchildren Olivia and Colette Cucinotta and Nick and Katya Lawrence; brother Robert Lawrence (Joyce); sister Jane Hughes (Warren); nephews and nieces Rob Lawrence (Melissa), Katie Smith (Josh), Marie Chough (Alex), and Mike Hughes (Amanda).
The family asks that friends remember Bill by making someone laugh and that anyone who might wish to make a donation choose a cause dear to them. Chances are, it will be one he, too, supported.

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