Short thoughts about a short life: Laura's legacy

I delivered this eulogy at Laura’s memorial service on Jan. 21, 2004. Why am I showing it to you now? Partially, because I’m her dad and I’m proud of her. And partially because so many people have told me that what I said that day moved them. But mostly because I believe Laura’s life had meaning and purpose—and still does!   --John Lustig

When a person dies, people usually just say nice things about them. You listen to the eulogies and the dearly departed sound like saints—100 percent self-sacrificing, 1,000 percent faultless and completely unbelievable.

I don’t want to do that when I’m talking about my daughter. So I’ll tell you right away…Laura was stubborn. At times she was even bossy. Laura liked things done correctly and if you messed up…heaven help you…she let you know it. And she positively, absolutely hated…eating vegetables.

She was, in short, a typical 10-year-old kid…in, oh, so many ways.

In other ways, though, she was anything but typical. Laura was a special needs child. Academics were largely beyond her. She had limited speech. Her fine motor control was poor. And many of the most basic skills in life were simply…beyond her.

But guess what? None of that mattered...because Laura had a wonderful gift. She made people happy. And, because of that, Laura rarely seemed truly limited.

She communicated through smiles, gestures and pure love. She was so wonderfully happy that everyone around her had no choice, but to be happy with her. Her greatest joy was people. And the smile that lit her face warmed the hearts of friends, family and total strangers.

I know it's a cliché, but to know Laura was to love her. She was simply…irresistible. (And if you could resist her--in my opinion--there was something seriously wrong with you.)

Laura made more people happy in her 10 1/2 years than most people do if they live to be 100. She was a gift and a blessing to my wife, Shelagh, and our other daughter, Caitie.

A day never passed when Laura didn’t make us happy. She healed our pain with her smiles. She gave us unconditional love with her hugs. And she taught us that life really is a laughing matter.

I want to hold onto those feelings and lessons now that she’s gone. I am determined to find meaning in both her life and her death.

My family and I have had many people ask us if there is anything they can do for us. I can only think of this…Be happy. Hug the people you love. Tell them you love them. And do it as often as you can…because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

 Newspaper Stories about Laura

 Laura's life attracted a lot of attention. Here's a feature The Seattle Times ran about her.

Letters about Laura

New We've literally received hundreds of letters about Laura and how she impacted people's lives. Check out Laura's "Live Journal" site for a few that touched our hearts and inspired us.