Lanier Campbell

Claude Lanier Campbell of San Angelo passed away on Jan. 18, 2022, at the age of 82. He was born on Mar. 30, 1939, in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Mervyn “Mutt” Campbell and Pauline (Winters) Campbell. Raised in South Texas, he graduated from Calallen High School in 1957, where he was a sports star, participating in basketball, baseball, and golf, achieving state-level honors in the latter. On a Sunday morning in 1957, Lanier was introduced to a petite young lady named Sandra Gillespie after church, and they quickly became inseparable. They were married on Christmas Day 1960 in Corpus Christi and began their life together in Austin, Texas, where Lanier was continuing his education. In 1963, he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas, Austin. He worked as an engineer in the petroleum industry all his life, beginning in South Texas in the 1960s, to West Texas in the ‘70s, and settling down for good in San Angelo in 1985. He was gentle and soft-spoken, but when he spoke, people listened. His engineer’s brain was active to the end, always planning and always three steps ahead of everyone else. His wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were his source of greatest earthly joy, and he never tired of bragging about all of them. Above all, he was a godly man, constant and confident in his faith and unafraid to share it with others. Lanier was predeceased by his parents; two sisters, Barbara Nell Campbell and Cynthia Stewart; and a brother, Larry Campbell. Survivors are his beloved wife of 61 years, Sandra Campbell of San Angelo; his children, Sherilyn Brown and husband, John, of Wise County, Texas; Lorna Ayers and husband, John, of Albany, Texas; Bonnie Johnson and husband, Derek, of Newalla, Okla.; and son, Michael Campbell and partner, Clint Whitehead, of Lewisville, Texas; grandchildren, Aimee Caudle, Justin Brown, Cori Bezner, Cali Rose, Sarah Waller, Seth Waller, Abby Hoard and Campbell Johnson; 17 great-grandchildren; one great-grandchild on the way; and a sister, Sharon Campbell. Funeral services are set for Saturday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m. at Harper Funeral Home. Interment will be at Johnson’s Lawnhaven Memorial Gardens. Mills Carraway will officiate, and pallbearers will be Joshua Avelar, John Ayers, Jeff Bezner, John Brown, Nick Rose, and Seth Waller. Harper Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.