YOUR STORY MATTERS HERE: Angela and Wade Lawson

By Tim Wesley

If you picked cities most likely to spawn a fairy tale romance, Paris would probably make the list. But for Angela and Wade Lawson, who met there while on vacation with mutual friends in 2009, it was hardly love at first sight.

“First time we met, we did not click,” he said, with a chuckle.  “She talked back.”

“He was arrogant,” she said, and they both laughed.

“I was very dictatorial,” he admitted.

“Still is,” she said, and they both laughed again.

Their laughter hit a crescendo when Angela recalled how Wade had left her behind in a neighborhood grocery store.

“He just disappeared and tried to lose me,” she said.

Yet, from that initial, he-said/she-said narrative of their first close encounter, a romance – indeed, a fairy tale romance – began.  And two years after they first met, Paris brought them together for good.

“Our group was exchanging pictures from that trip, and Wade and I decided to have lunch,” Angela said.  “We were both going through some difficult times, and we also discovered we had a lot in common.”

For Angela, the difficult times included the 2007 death of her son, Sean, followed just two years later by the death of her husband, John.  Wade, meanwhile, had just been through a divorce.

“In hindsight, the difficulties we went through probably played a role in getting us together,” he said.

“We were both comforting to each other, and able to listen,” she said.

Also comforting to Angela was one of her favorite Bible verses, Jeremiah 29:11:  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God’s plans for Angela and Wade took them on circuitous routes to each other.

Angela grew up in Baltimore and went to an African-Methodist-Episcopal Church with her grandmother.  She married John Carson at age 19 and earned her degree in elementary education from Delaware State College in 1972.  The couple had two daughters and one son, and settled in Cranberry Township in 1990 when John accepted a transfer in his job as a bank examiner with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.  Angela had started working for the Social Security Administration as a claims representative, and was promoted to supervisor and eventually an office manager; she retired in 2006 after 33 years with the agency.

After moving to Cranberry, the Carsons began attending Dutilh and Angela soon became a well-recognized member of the congregation – and not just because she wore elegant hats to Sunday services, an homage to her grandmother who always did the same.  She attended and taught Sunday school classes, participated in the Disciple Bible study series, volunteered for Vacation Bible School and the Pumpkin Patch, and led Dutilh’s Racial Reconciliation group.

“I immersed myself here and it brought me home,” she said.

So when she lost her son and husband within a two-year period, Angela leaned on her Dutilh relationships and Dutilh leaned back. 

“There was no way that I could possibly have known the trials that were ahead of me, but God did and his people were there to walk with me,” she said.  “The people of Dutilh wrapped their arms around me.  Even when I kind of fell away from church for a while, they would still come to me and didn’t let me wallow in my own sadness.  They were also there for my children, and that’s all part of what kept me going.”

Wade’s journey doesn’t include family tragedies, but quite a few twists and turns in the road.  Born and raised in Pittsburgh, he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972 with an undergraduate degree in urban affairs and a master’s degree in public administration.  He began working at the Port Authority of Allegheny County as a program coordinator, a job that launched him on a 35-year career in the public transportation sector.  From there, he began his own circuitous career route, with executive positions in Iowa, New Jersey, Saudi Arabia, California, Maryland, and Pittsburgh again.  He finished up in New Jersey in 2009, as deputy executive director of a regional transportation authority.

“I loved it there,” he said.  “I was close to the ocean, close to Atlantic City.  It was great, and I was not inclined to move back to Pittsburgh.”

Then came that trip to Paris, and the lunch with Angela a couple years later.

“I found my angel,” he said.

Angela and Wade married in 2014, and their family now comprises four adult kids, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

“I believe we were brought together and meant to be together,” Angela said.  “We’re very different outwardly, but inside our hearts are very similar.”

Both have a heart for service and helping others, which defined their careers as well as their personal lives.

For Angela, in addition to her service at Dutilh, that included helping the elderly and people from all walks of life to navigate the complexities of the social security system.

“You must be willing to go the extra mile to give assistance and help others resolve their issues,” she said.  “I truly like helping people; I think I’m a social worker at heart.  My grandmother always helped people, and she was good to anyone in need in her neighborhood, so I must get that from her.”

Wade’s desire to help people took a different, but invaluable, form.

“The best thing about my job,” he said, “was that it gave me a chance to give opportunities to minorities who might not have been given those opportunities otherwise.  I could award contracts to companies and offer jobs to people to give them a chance to be successful.  I would look for people who maybe didn’t have the most experience but they were smart and were receptive to being trained.”

Not surprisingly, Wade suggested job-seekers need to take some calculated risks, too.

“Seek out and accept career and professional challenges which are far beyond your comfort zone and skillset, so that you can expand your skills and capabilities,” he said.  “And don't be afraid to change jobs every few years to accelerate your career and income growth.” 

With their careers behind them, Angela and Wade have no trouble keeping busy.  He’s always searching for the perfect beach and enjoys eating in five-star restaurants.  They take a drive somewhere every day together, and spend as much time as possible with family and friends, including an annual trip to the Outer Banks with a crew of nearly 40 guests. 

Wade suffered a stroke in 2019, but he’s feeling much better these days and hasn’t let it slow them down.

“I’m very blessed and fortunate,” he said.  “I do what I can when I can, and I’m thankful for today.  There’s nothing else I want; I have happiness.”

A fairy tale, indeed.

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If you or someone you know in the Dutilh family has an interesting story or profession, send us your ideas! We would love to help tell the story. Email: communications@dutilhumc.org.