Laura Christine Sexton

It is with heavy hearts that on October 2, 2019, Laura Christine Sexton, age 61, passed away peacefully in her home with her husband, Dan, by her side. She fought a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer and became an inspiration to many others. She was the matriarch of her large Sicilian-Irish family and her presence will be sorely missed. She always strived to be the best wife, mom, Nana, and friend every day and we appreciate every moment we had with her.

Laura was born on December 6, 1957, in Bridgeport, Connecticut to her parents, Charles and Vicki McMahon. She was a big sister to two younger sisters and a baby brother and often looked after them. Growing up, they moved often, which made it quite a challenge to make friends, so they would stick to each other for support and guidance. She and her siblings would spend time together playing music, laughing, and just hanging out.

Laura showed love to everyone she encountered, and everyone immediately loved her back. She had a way of making a complete stranger feel comfortable enough to tell her their life story. She would always have some words of wisdom, then give the best hugs in the world to help them on their journey. People were proud to call her a friend, of which she had many. She loved being a wife and a mom, but her greatest joy was her role of Nana to her thirteen grandchildren. She enjoyed spending as much time with them as possible. Whether she was talking to them on the phone, video chatting, teaching them to crochet, providing tips on singing or guitar-playing, cheering them on at an event, or searching for snails to add to the collection, those were the moments she lived for and the moments that will live on in them.

If you knew Laura, it was no secret that she loved music. She had a beautiful singing voice and played the acoustic guitar and piano, which she then taught her children and grandchildren as they came along. She listened to such a variety of music, so there almost wasn’t a song she didn’t know. Music was in her soul and was the way she connected with others. Family jam sessions, Rock Band and board game nights were some of her favorite pastimes. She was happiest when she heard the sounds of laughter and everyone talking all at once, cracking jokes and having fun.

Her fun-loving personality and gorgeous smile are what immediately attracted the attention of her husband. When Dan met Laura in the fall of 1996, one of her sons worked at his pizza restaurant, so she would go up there to visit him; sometimes with friends, mostly with her kids. Initially, Dan thought Laura was taken, but soon discovered this was not the case and they quickly became close friends. After months and months of talking and hanging out at the restaurant, Dan and Laura went on that infamous trip to the dock. After receiving the best hug in the world, he was hooked. Since that day, they became inseparable. They were married by Justice of the Peace, Roy Truelove, on August 18, 2001 in Bryan, TX with their two young children and family friends present. Their romance has been one for the ages and is truly something to be admired. As they always said, “After all these years, we’ve never argued.” It was really a remarkable thing to see the love that they shared.

As a mom, Laura made it a priority to be emotionally available to her children and provide a listening ear for whatever they were going through. Through life’s ups and downs, she was always the constant in their lives. They would call her with questions about cooking, parenting, and other situations they were struggling to figure out on their own. She was always the first person they would want to share life events with and the one they leaned on when times were rough. Her children have always relied on her wisdom and experience to help them throughout their life journeys, which is something they will cherish forever. She did not only provide this support exclusively for her natural-born kids, she was the community mom. All of the children who came to her house would lovingly call her, “Mom” and she would treat them as such.

Laura was very talented at crafting, especially the art of crochet. She could find a way to crochet anything you needed; a blanket for her kids, a shawl for her sister, a hat for her grandkids, a wallet for her husband, or holiday decorations for her home; you name it – she could crochet it. She also used that skill to help those in need. Anytime, she heard of a disaster happening, she would start thinking of items survivors might need. She would enlist the help of her fellow crochet addicts and make care packages, including handmade crochet items, food and resources to send them off to families in need. She didn’t stop there. She also made hats for cancer patients many years prior to her own diagnosis and even after she was diagnosed, she would bring hats to leave in the waiting room of the oncology office for others when she was there for her appointments. Laura was a true humanitarian.

Her humanitarian efforts were also given to animals. She had a family cat, Patches, for 18 years while her kids were growing up and even though tigers were her favorite animal, she was a dog lover at heart. When she became an empty nester, Laura and Dan decided to give their time to foster older dogs, so they could help find a forever home for their final years. One of their foster dogs, Atlas, came to them in very bad shape and needed a lot of TLC. Laura cared for him and nursed him back to health until he got his forever home. It broke her heart to know that so many dogs were without homes and had very little chance of being adopted due to their age. So, they adopted two of those dogs, Lady and Bosco. She cared for those fur babies like they were her children. Her first dog, Lady, was a Rottweiler and Laura always made sure to try and improve the reputation of Rotties. When they adopted Bosco, a large Mastador mix, Lady finally had a buddy. Laura loved watching them interact with each other and being their mom. Sadly, Lady passed away after battling cancer not too long after Laura was diagnosed. Lady is now reunited with her mom and Bosco is still here to be there for his dad.

Laura is survived by her husband, Dan Sexton; her children, Charles Neal Cross, Jeremy Cross, Heather Cross, Sarah Wiley, Rachel Rangel, James Sexton, Danielle Sexton, and Brad Sexton; Her thirteen grandchildren, Katelyn, Alexis, Caleb Jr., Trevion, Ehlana, Courtney, Jacob, Laurana, Gabriel, Robert, Raidyn, Raymundo, and Rachel; her mother, Vicki Nordal; her sisters, Rainy and Jean; her brother, Chuck; her dog, Bosco; and many, many friends and “adopted” kids who she called family. Laura is now reunited with her father, Chuck McMahon, whom she missed greatly throughout her adult life; her “sisters from another mister”, Hattie Wiley and Sharron Cross, with whom she enjoyed sharing the roles of mother and grandmother; her mother-in-law, Karen Coconis; her beloved dog, Lady; and her cat, Patches.

We will miss her every day but will remain grateful for the time we had together and be there for each other as a family, the way we were taught. Faith, love, and family were the principles she lived by. Though she may be gone from this world, her loving, music-filled, fun-loving, wild spirit will live on forever in every life she touched.

Please join us in remembering and celebrating the life of an incredibly strong warrior and heartwarming soul, Laura Sexton.

Visitation will be 6:00 to 8:00 PM Saturday at Crawford Bowers Funeral Home in Copperas Cove. Funeral Services will be held 2:00 PM Sunday at Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home in Copperas Cove. Following the service, there will be a gathering for family and friends at the Copperas Cove City Park Complex, 1206 W. Ave. B, for a barbecue and jam session in her honor.

Family would like for everyone to dress casual and include purple in their attire, as this was her favorite color.