 Timeline |
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| 1975 & The Early Years |
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Born in Wilmington, Delaware on October 27th 1975. Laurie was born on her maternal Grandfather Raymond Shupe's birthday the following year after he died on November 29th 1974 so his birthday never actually passed uncelebrated. Laurie's middle name "Rae" was for her grandfather. Laurie's cousin Sandy Shupe was also born the day before her, the same year on October 26th.
We moved to New Castle, Delaware just before Laurie's first birthday and resided there until she was 13 years old. Laurie began school in the New Castle County public schools. She enjoyed growing up in the New Castle area with her sister Dawn Marie (4 years older) & brother William Reese (2 years younger). Laurie also has an older brother Frank that resided in the Richmond, VA area until the early 90's when he moved to DE. We often vacationed in Virginia or Frank would spend time in DE with us before he moved to DE permanently. She was active in the New Castle Girls Softball Little League Teams as well as various Brownie & Girls Scout Troops. We spent every summer vacation, weekends and school breaks at the Holly Lake Campsites at Millsboro, DE. All of the children loved the family oriented activities they offered there & looked forward to returning every summer. Laurie had several close friends, Little Dawn (across the street) & Kim were the best but she always was very close with her sister Dawn.
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| 1989 |
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In May of 1989 we moved to the Middletown, DE area in southern New Castle County. A bigger home for a growing family. Laurie's older sister Dawn was scheduled to graduate in early June. What a happy time for the Walden family. Dawn's senior prom & graduation were simply great. The graduation celebration was very festive. Dawn graduated with honors. Laurie watched, shared & enjoyed every moment. Dawn attended Delcastle Technical a local Vocational High School & graduated with a certificate as a cosmetologist as well as a high school diploma. After practicing on both Laurie & Mom's hair for 3 years Dawn was finally a licensed hairdresser! Dawn passed her state boards third highest of the state testing that year. She was working part-time at a local Shop-Rite as a cashier as well as full-time at a local Sear's Beauty Salon trying to built up a following in the hairdressing trade. Just four (4) short weeks after graduation and four (4) months before Dawn's 18th birthday tragedy struck. Dawn died instantly after a single car accident that occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 9th 1989. Our entire family was devastated by this enormous & senseless loss. As Dawn's Mom, I cannot even begin to explain how her death affected me. Although I knew it was life altering for my family as well as other children, I did not realize the traumatic impact on Laurie, her future, the emotional scars it left nor ever imagine the size of the hole that Dawn's death would leave in her heart or the void that it left in Laurie's life for the years to come.
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| 1993 Graduation |
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Laurie attended a local vocational high school. Laurie always made friends easily. Some of her school buddies were; Anna, Cindy, Tracey and Danielle among numerous others. She really enjoyed art, music, family, friends & school. She also started driving at 16 after completing a Drivers Education Course at school. Although we were concerned, Laurie was actually a pretty good driver. Laurie graduated from Hodgson Vocational Technical High School. Laurie selected Information Technology & Services. We celebrated Laurie's graduation with both apprehension & relief. After what had happened to Dawn, there was always a big black cloud hanging over happy family occasions. We always tried to ignore it like the 'pink elephant in the room' everyone hopes no one else acknowledges but it was always there nonetheless. Laurie never really wanted to celebrate anything & I was always somewhat relieved. I am now truly sorry Laurie. |
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| Prior To & After Graduation Career |
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Laurie worked in the food service industry for a while during high school. Later, she stayed on at a local Wendy's as a shift manager then moved on to a local KFC as a assistant manager. She always had openings for her friends & family too. Later she worked for NET Counceling Center as a receptionist & part-time as a personal scheduler for a staff psychiatrist. She really enjoyed her job at NET as she was a bit burnt out in the fast food industry. Later she began working for EAZY CASH as a store Manager, District Manager and eventually moved into collections when the stores broke up & divided over into Eazy Loans, Inc. She loved her job at EAZY Cash/Loans. Laurie was always a 'people person' and enjoyed working with & meeting different people everyday. Many she considered friends & many consider her their friend.
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| After Graduation Family |
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It's a long story & those of you that know us are probably already familiar with it. For the others, I won't bore you with all of the details. Dawn & Frank were 2 years apart in age and therefore closer than he and Laurie. A few years after we lost Dawn, Laurie decided to play match maker and lore her brother up here from where he was living in Virginia using her friend Anna as bait. She believed that Frank could help heal her mother's broken & grieving heart. Well Anna went along with Laurie's plan believing that it couldn't hurt anything to give a hillbilly a northern thrill? Laurie (nor Anna) never imagined that the two may actually fall madly in love and/or that Anna could/would end up liking her brother better than her. That's how love goes, Frank really liked the bait! Frank moved to DE permanently in the late summer early fall of 93 and the following year he and Anna made Laurie an Aunt and me a Grandmother for the first time. Little Frankie was born 8/2/94. I was simply terrified that those two would never make it and now there were three. However, after several years of ups & downs and various struggles, that we all face, I'm so happy to say that I was wrong. Love is truly a bonus, they not only made it, they are now married & happier than ever. Anna I am both proud & happy to have you as a daughter, you have brought so much joy & happiness into my first born's life, thank you. Congratulations Frank, Anna & Frankie. I know that Laurie is very happy for you and proud of her match making skills too! |
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| 1998 & 1999 Laurie & Dave |
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In 1998 Laurie married Davey Allen Gunter on Friday, September 25th in a small ceremony at home. Dave has a funny personality and could always make her laugh. They moved into a small townhouse in Newark, DE with Dave's boxer Sampson. They began planning a formal wedding & reception for the following year. Sadly Sampson was hit by a car & died the following August. Both Laurie & Dave took his loss pretty hard. The formal wedding occured on Saturday, September 25th 1999 and there was a big celebration complete with all of their family & friends. Laurie was a beautiful bride both the first & second time around! Her Dad was so proud to give her away & I fought tears of both joy for Laurie & sadness thinking of the wedding that we were cheated out of for Dawn. Maybe that's why Laurie was married twice? They adopted two more boxers, Seria & Vader & started breeding puppies. Laurie had many cookbooks & collected recipes. She loved experimenting in the kitchen. Although her Dad was very reluctant to be a guinea pig, we went over for dinner & she was actually doing pretty good. She loved to cook & try out new recipes. Unfortunately, shortly after she & Dave reaffirmed their vows they started experiencing personal problems which eventually lead to a separation. Although never legally divorced they also never managed to get back together or work things out. However, they remained close friends until Laurie's death. I will copy parts of her personal description of Dave here from her journal: "Dave Gunter: My husband makes me pee myself laughing. That is his best quality. He drives me insane but I love him to death. We messed up our marriage badly but we are friends now though. We are a volatile combination. Now that we both recoginize that things are much easier. We have shared some great times together. Our dogs were our children, we loved them & I miss them terribly." |
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| July 2001 - January 2006 Laurie & Chuck |
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In July 2001 Laurie met Charles "Chuck" Campbell. Chuck played many roles in the remaining years of her life depending on her mood. He was; her best friend, her protector, her companion, her boyfriend, her room-mate, her confidant, her lover, her sole-mate, her partner in both fun & crime as well as her fiance'. She also frequently but lovingly to refered to him as the psycho or the "warden". In private, Chuck gave Laurie a soft place to fall but he was always truly her 'rock'. Chuck was always there for her through all the ups & downs & the highs & lows. He was consistant and he loved her unconditionally. Chuck was with her until the end. He had the heartbreak of realizing that she was really not sleeping and that she had actually quit breathing. Chuck's love, loyality & devotion to Laurie are steadfast despite his personal pain & loss. You have earned my respect & gratitude Chuck. I shall copy from Laurie's personal journal written early in their relationship below:
Chuck Campbell: My Friend-(Former)Companion: "Helped me through a nervous breakdown after my marriage fell apart. Always there for me - with just a phone call. Wish I could have talked to him about certain problems. But I was too embarrassed - and scared that he would put his foot up my ***  Much Love for the "Warden"
After very brief periods apart, I believe that Laurie did find the strength to 'talk' certain problems over with Chuck. Chuck, if love alone could have saved her she would be here with us right now. Chuck still keeps vigilance at the cemetery, talking to Laurie regularly. He absolutely refuses to abandon her. Be kind to yourself Chuck, she would simply hate how you are grieving & suffering. |
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| 2002 Bill & Jessica's Wedding |
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On Valentine's Day 2002 Laurie's baby brother Bill married Jessica Lynn McNally in a small ceremony at home. They had a big reception celebration blast on Saturday February 17th 2002 complete with all of their family & friends. Laurie was very happy because they were expecting a baby. Laurie just could not believe 'Billy' was married and going to be a 'Daddy' too. But, she was looking forward to being an Aunt again. William Reese Walden, Jr was born on July 3rd 2002. Bill & Jess later added a pair of twin daughters to their/our family Dawn Marie Walden & Jacklynn Rae Walden were born on September 21st 2004. Laurie was still adjusting to Willie when double trouble were born, she was completely in shock. Just imagine how Jess felt! We all were very touched when Bill decided to name one of his daughters after his sister Dawn that had died in 89. Laurie was very pleased too. My older brother Dave (Raymond David Shupe) had died from cancer in November 2003, so Bill & Jess repeated the honor of how we had selected Laurie's middle name "Rae" for my Dad - Raymond and gave Jackie the same middle name of 'Rae' too. Laurie was please that the kids thought of Uncle Davey but knew that Jackie had her middle name too. We are all very happy about that now regardless of the reasoning then. |
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| Suddenly on January 19, 2006 |
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On January 18th, 2006 at about 11:15pm Laurie called me on the telephone to confirm that she would be coming over to our house the next day to help me with the grandchildren or her nephew William, Jr & twin nieces Dawn Marie & Jacklynn Rae (her brother Bill's children). Her Dad had driven to FL to visit his mother who was ill & hospitalized. Laurie looked forward to spending time with Bill's children. A few short hours later the telephone rang again & I was asked to come to the hospital. There was a problem with Laurie. She was found about 4:00am not breathing and transported by ambulance to the emergency room. Upon arrival at the hospital, I was informed that she could not be revived and that my daughter was dead. She passed away suddenly on January 19th 2006 at the age of 30. Laurie's paternal grand-mother, Rena Walden with whom her Dad was visiting in FL when Laurie passed away, died on January 30th 2006.
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