Obituary of Laura Vaugeois

The Most Awesome, Wonderful & Phenomenal Laura Mignonne Vaugeois on the afternoon of April 30th, left this world to go play music, climb mountains, collect rocks and laugh on another plain. She is survived by her beloved partner; her loving and supportive family, her Mother Gina MacDonald, her Father Fred Vaugeois, along with her Stepmother Harriet Vaugeois and her brothers, Cam Vaugeois, Chris Lott and Rene Vaugeois, and by her incredible, chosen family, Nancy and Catherine LaPointe. If you had to use a single word to describe her it would be Joyous. Laura had a vibrant spirit, along with a giving, compassionate and loving nature and she lived by her credo Happy, Stable and Productive. She actively sought adventure; she was constantly active at work and play. She lived with a purpose. She was a gift to the lives of everyone she touched and will be missed tremendously.

The happiest day of Laura’s life was February 29th, 2008. The day that she and her partner celebrated their love for each other. It was a grand event, attended by people she loved and her joy was overwhelming. Laura was passionately in love and infinitely happy. She wanted to share her love for her partner with others. Their love was and is strong, and a joy to see.

We who were fortunate to have Laura in our lives will forever be blessed. We did not have enough time with her, for we had so many more activities to do, projects, music, camping, hiking, playing & loving. We try to be thankful for the time we had, but it's so damn hard now. What happened, happened, but it never should have. She was stricken with a sudden and overwhelming infection and fought for 12 days in the Critical Care Unit of St. Peters. If will alone could have allowed her to survive, she would have. We thank the staff at St Peters Critical Care Unit for the love, care and support they gave her. Some of the nurse’s asked to be her caregiver and went the extra mile for our Laura. They, like Laura, were Totally Awesome!

There will be a Celebration of Laura’s Life on Wednesday May 7th, at 3:30 in Priest Point Park's Rose Garden. Laura loved being outdoors, so we will tell tales among the trees, play music, laugh and comfort each other. Both her families, chosen and by birth will be there along with many friends / co-workers from DNR whom she brought joy. Those who knew and loved her are welcome to attend. She loved rocks, so please bring a cool rock -large rocks are encouraged, in lieu of flowers, so we can build something she would be proud of...

For additional info, or to share thoughts, you can go to http://home.comcast.net/~rememberlaura. You can also click on View Guestbook below to leave a condolence on this website.

Laura was born in Garden Grove, CA on June 24th, 1964. She was raised in CA. and Montana, and considered herself “Montana Girl”. She received her BA in Geology from the University of CA @ Riverside, and her Masters in Geology from Western Washington University. She lived for some time in Sedro Wolley and moved to Olympia in 1995. Laura worked for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources for the past 18 years as a geologist and was one of their best. Laura’s work with landside research has garnered her worldwide attention and recognition. She was to co-chair a landside presentation in Tokyo, Japan this November.

She loved skiing, hiking and backpacking and was working her way around the Wonderland Trail in Mt. Rainer Nat. Park. Camping was a passion, as was hanging around the campfire, singing and playing her guitar. She demonstrated her creative side in her landscaping and by creating gorgeous stained glass pieces. SHE LOVED ROCKS!!! All kinds of rocks, and landsides, she was very passionate about them. She loved working with the foresters at DNR and other professional cohorts. Laura Mignonne Vaugeois will be dearly missed. We are thankful for our wonderful memories. We all will miss you for the rest of our lives here on earth. Sweet dreams gyrl!