Laura Elliott-Hildreth

With heavy hearts, we’re announcing the passing of our beloved co-worker, Laura Elliott/Hildreth.  Laura lost her battle with cancer this year.

Laura’s smile and positive attitude touched everybody she met!   Laura overcame much adversity in her life, and is still an inspiration to us and many others.  Laura volunteered her time to her family, work, and many non-profit organizations.

Even to the bitter end, Laura was incredibly positive despite her struggles with cancer. She never complained, learned new things, continued to grow spiritually, and incredibly… was always more concerned with your wellbeing!

Laura and her devoted husband Jeff introduced us, Herbily Ever After™, to Audra Fleming, (Executive Director) of Ray of Hope Cancer Foundation™.  And, as a result, 15% of all our sales proceeds now go to Ray of Hope Cancer Foundation.  Laura was taken-in by Ray of Hope, during her time of need, and for that, she was grateful.  It’s our honor to give back to an amazing non-profit like Ray of Hope Cancer Foundation™, in Laura’s honor.

“Laura, we will miss your smiling face and sense of humor!  We could always count on you, and you always put others needs ahead of own.  You were one of those rare individuals, that when you walked into a room, the room came to life!  You made everyone around you a better person!  Thank you for touching our lives!”

“You will be sorely missed, but never forgotten!  We LOVE YOU LAURA!  Rest in Peace!”

Warmly,

Steve Walker, and staff

 

Laura’s Memorial

(written by her children and husband)

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of our beloved Laura.

We find solace in the fact that her final two years were not lived in vain, but rather filled with joy and the achievement of her many dreams.

She lived fiercely with compassion, gratitude and grace from the moment she received her diagnosis of cancer.

As for her children, we are so blessed to have gotten the time with her that we did. She spent countless hours telling us stories of our childhoods, binging out on pizza nights, watching movies, and taking day trips. We went to her with our deepest sorrows and greatest joys. She reveled in listening to every bit of our lives and future goals. We know we will continue to hear her voice whispering in our ears every time we need her advice in the days to come. She told us that we will find her every moment that we watch the wind blowing through the trees of life.

Laura was there for the birth of her first granddaughter, Raina, and she played an important role in raising her for the first year of life. She had countless sleepovers with her cherished grandson Kaiden and created lasting memories for the two of them. When Ana became a part of our family last year, Laura became overjoyed with getting to know yet another grandchild, one who is older and will help the two younger ones to remember her.

Thanks to the organization Domus Pacis, we were able to take two family getaways to the mountains. Joined by her brothers, sisters, children, grandchildren and partner, we spent a blissful summer week in Silverthorne. We returned again this past December, this time staying in Keystone, wrapped in a blanket of beautiful snow.

She visited Seattle to spend a week with extended family. She also took a trip to New York with her sister Maureen, all made possible by a last wish charity. (Lin Manuel Miranda even wrote her a personal note!) She went on a cruise where she finally got to visit the place at the top of her bucket list – Belize. Laura also traveled to Hawaii with the love of her life, Jeffery.

It is his hands which cared for her the most, in her final days. They married last winter after being together for a decade. His strength and resilience every step of the way allowed for her to feel comfortable, safe, and at peace until the end.

One of Laura’s dreams was to inspire others with her motivational speaking. In her last few years, her voice appeared on a radio show and she spoke at events sponsored by Mile High Behavioral Health, (where she also worked as a peer counselor.) She was arguably one of the best life coaches you could ever meet.

She made us laugh with joy at every turn. She spoke her truth, even when it was hard. Laura saved countless lives in her recovery. Many of those beautiful, transformed people came to visit her bedside at the brink of her transition.

Thank you to Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care for providing such dignified and gentle service for Laura in her final weeks. Mary, Vanessa, Emily, Ana, and Francine – you are amazing souls, and we are so grateful for your brave presence, despite how difficult your roles are, especially with the added stresses of everything going on in our communities currently.

We are grateful for every single second we had with Laura. The endless monuments of vitality will live on through those of us who survive her, and for those who survive because of her.

Thank you, Laura. We can’t even tell you how much we love you…. we know you’ll continue to watch over us as our eternal angel. Rest in the peace of knowing that you did an amazing job with your time on this earth.

We will hold a celebration of life party later in the year. An announcement will be made once we know more.