Laura "Laurie" Maria (Gabriel) Bean

Laurie, as she was known by her friends and family, died at Fairfax Hospital after being diagnosed with cancer this Spring. She was 61 years old. Laurie was born in Mexico City, Mexico to Joseph Paul Gabriel and Maria Teresa Palafox Gabriel. There, she and her younger sister, Carol, attended the American School Foundation. After high school, Laurie attended college in Texas, graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984. It comes as no surprise, that Laurie with her warm and extroverted personality majored in Radio, Television and Film. Her compassion for others took Laurie in another direction, however. Moving to Washington D.C., she attended and graduated from Catholic University Law School. It was in Law School that Laurie fell in love with and then married William Bean. They met in a law class held on Saturday mornings. After finally chatting one day, Laurie began to listen for Bill's voice and loud laugh in the hallways, and she would coincidentally run into him. Some weeks later they began dating and, by the second date, they decided to marry. Because of church rules, they waited six months and finally married between school semesters. During the early part of their marriage, they enjoyed traveling around the country and world. After the first 10 years or so, they also had to deal with Bill's health challenges imposed by multiple sclerosis. They were happily married for more than 32 years until Bill’s death in early 2022. After a short time at a law firm, Laurie began her career with the Social Security Administration as a Translator, then a Paralegal Analyst, then a Technical Assistant, retiring in 2015 as a Branch Chief for Division 1 of the Disability Insurance Agency’s Administrative Appeals Division. She embraced retirement with her usual exuberance for life – savoring time in her garden, going on Bishop led pilgrimages to the Holy Land, offering extra kindness to neighbors, and discovering a passion for hiking. The last prompted her to purchase a place in the mountains of Virginia which offered the peace of nature and new adventure at the same time. Laurie loved - and felt like she was somewhat of a grandmother type figure to - all the neighborhood children who came to visit, eat candies and play with toys in her home. Children made Laurie exceedingly happy, but friends, neighbors and family also filled her heart with joy and love. Laurie also loved all animals and her pets, Lizzie, Katy, Lily and Francesca the dogs (deceased), Jelly Bean the cat, and Lucky, Keiko and Honey the birds. She had matching coats made for her and the dogs and, as the dogs aged, took them for walks by pushing them around the neighborhood in a stroller. An assortment of other birds and fish also lived at her home throughout the years. In October of 2022, Laurie met her fiancé Bryon Bernard through eHarmony and said she would marry him and move to Michigan after only 2 weeks of online dating and FaceTime! They had planned to marry after Laurie's cancer treatments were finished. Their relationship was a whirlwind of happiness, laughter and love, involving travel between their respective homes in Virginia and Michigan. All too soon, Bryon became a loving caregiver as Laurie dealt with the consequences of her cancer diagnosis. Laurie was preceded in death by her parents, Joe and Tere Gabriel, her sister in law Susan Bean Wagner and her husband Bill. She is survived by her sister Carol (David) Wagner, nephew Joseph (Jillian) Wagner, and great nephew Everest Wagner, who are all residents of Texas, as well as her brother in law and sister in law Robert and Beverly Bean and her nephew by marriage, Ryan Wagner, all residents of Virginia. Laurie will be long remembered for her contagious smile and laughter, strong Catholic faith and a love of Christ, along with the ability to make every stranger a friend. Her warmth, sense of fun, willingness to listen and boundless affection made the lives of more than a few family members, friends and children much richer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Laurie Gabriel Bean to St Rita Catholic Church, 3815 Russell Rd, Alexandria, VA 22305. There will be a meal provided immediately following the graveside service at the Barcroft Community House located at 800 S. Buchanan St, Arlington, VA (a few blocks from Laurie’s home). Parking for the meal is next door at the Woman's Club of Arlington (across 8th St S). All who loved Laurie are invited to attend to share our love for her.