In Memoriam : Lawanda Dougherty

Lawanda Dougherty Lawanda Jean Dougherty - age: 73
(October 20, 1952 to December 16, 2025 )
Resident of Farmersville, California

Visitation Information:
Graveside Service will take place on Friday, January 16, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at the Exeter District Cemetery.

Obituary:
Lawanda Jean Dougherty from Farmersville, CA passed away on December 16, 2025, surrounded by love.
Lawanda was born October 20, 1952, in Exeter CA to Norma Jean Blunt and Buel Hill. In 1963, Norma “Jean” married James Crisswell who lovingly assumed the role of her Dad. Lawanda married Kenneth Dougherty in 1969 and had 3 children. They were married for 49 years and only separated by Kenneth’s death in 2018.
Lawanda was a proud Navy wife following Ken all over the US, including New Jersey, Virginia and Puerto Rico. They settled in Farmersville, CA when Ken retired from the military in 1982. She began waitressing and found her calling. She worked at Merle’s Drive In, Visalia Tea Garden and Ryan’s Place. She loved her job and made numerous friends with coworkers and restaurant patrons. Many restaurant regulars would wait for “Lawanda’s section” as they knew she would provide excellent service.
Lawanda loved her children fiercely but adored her grand babies. She was an amazing grandma and would do anything for them. Any opportunity she got to spend time with and money on them she took it.
Lawanda was a force to be reckoned with. She loved her long acrylic fingernails and big hair; she was charming, funny, fiercely protective of those she loved, a bit of a control freak and an avid shopper and she did it all with a lot of love and a whole lot of sass. Her home was always full of friends and her children’s friends. She never hesitated to help someone in need, whether it was providing a meal, helping them pay a bill or giving them a place to sleep.
She is preceded in death by her mother Norma Jean Crisswell and her father James Clyde Crisswell as well as her husband Kenneth Dougherty and grandson Aaron Holmes. She is survived by her children Becky Dougherty, Danny Dougherty (Shonda), April Lafaire (Armando)and Tonya Adams; her grandchildren Jesse, Rachel (Michael), Tommi, Molli, Marli (Nickolas), Savannah, Cassidy, Morgan, James, Charisma, Caanon and Cohen; her great grandchildren Noah, Brinley, Ellie and Roland. She is also survived by her sister Terri Crisswell and her “sister” Debbie Doyle.