Miriam Frances Lauritzon

Miriam passed away in her home on December 15, 2014 from congestive heart failure. She had been under hospice care since September and was surrounded with love from friends and family on a daily basis.

Miriam was born in Jersey City, NJ to Adolph and Miriam Walter. She lived in NJ until she met and married her husband of 60 years, Bob Lauritzon, who preceded her in death in 2006. Bob & Miriam moved to Bob’s home state of Minnesota, where they started their family with their first four children. In 1955, the family relocated to Portland, OR, where they added two more children to the family. They spent 3 years in Coos Bay, and then came back to Portland for good in 1967.

Miriam is survived by her six children who all live in the Portland area, Joe (Lynn), Judy Morris (Steve), Monica Nelson (Dave), Mary Brown (Garylee), Paul (Kelley), and Annette Navarro (Carmelo) as well as eleven grandchildren and one great grandchild. She is also survived by her sister Julia Mahady of Brick, NJ and many nieces and nephews.

Miriam had three priorities in her life, faith, family and friends, with a true passion for volunteering, which culminated in a long life with a large, close family and many good friends.

She and Bob were faithful and active parishioners of St. Clare parish in the 1950’s and early 60’s and St. Mary Magdalene parish since 1965. Their six children attended both of those grade schools as well. Miriam was involved in many facets of the church and school, including being a room mother, the first female parents’ club president at St. Clare, parish council member, fundraiser chair, ladies guild member, altar society member and all around volunteer.

Miriam’s true passion was volunteering and helping others. Besides the work she did for many years at her church and parish schools, she volunteered at Providence Hospital for several years, and then continued volunteering at Adventist Medical Center for 29 years, finally retiring in her late 80’s with over 8,000 hours of service. She made many close friends there and considered Portland Adventist her second home.

Miriam was the consummate people person. She would much rather learn all about you than talk about herself. It would be hard to find someone that met her that didn’t love her! She always made people feel welcome and at ease. Even when she went to the Emergency Room and the doctors and nurses were trying to get information about her, she would interrupt them to ask questions about them, and by the end of the visit, she would know their life history…it was a true art!

Over the years Bob & Miriam enjoyed various activities including square-dancing, camping, family beach vacations, wine bus tours, and in later years traveling to various “warm” destinations. They really enjoyed taking family trips with their kids and grandchildren and never missed a family party! They were known for “adopting” their kid’s friends and many thought of them as their second set of parents.

Family was Miriam’s main focus in her life. She & Bob raised six children, and since Bob traveled frequently during the week when the kids were young, Miriam did much of the work herself. She was an amazing mother that managed to get everything done and handle anything that came up. Somehow she managed to combine discipline with love. She was a great cook and loved to bake as well. She was a true “foodie” before we knew what that was. She only knew how to cook for a crowd, so nobody ever went hungry at the Lauritzon house! If she loved being a mom, she doubly enjoyed being a Grandma. She adored her grandkids and loved watching them grow into adults, and was so proud of them. In July she received the greatest gift of her first great-grandchild, Hanna Olivia, who brought her great joy over the last 5 months.

Mom, we love you and miss you already. You will forever be in our hearts and your smile and laughter will be etched in our memories. Give dad a hug for us!