Laura Williams, dearly loved daughter of Kathleen and the late George Williams, passed away on the 10 ^th of September 2022 after a courageous battle against cancer at South Shore Hospital, Weymouth Mass, USA.  Laura will be sadly missed by her many family and friends including her mother Kathleen and step-father Bill, her brother Andrew, his wife Jeminne and their children Elliot, Tess and George, her twin sister Louise, brother-in-law Bryan and their children Jack and Hannah. Laura was also exceptionally close to her Aunt Maureen and Uncle Don and her cousins Ian and Colin, as well as her Aunt Sheila and Uncle Peter and cousins Peter and Mark. Laura was hugely popular and respected in the local community, with many loving friends who admired her positive spirit, strong work ethic, and extraordinary artistic talent.

Laura originally hailed from England but choose to build and live her life in the United States. She immigrated to Key West, Florida in 1989 where she worked for 12 years initially in the yachting industry refurbishing sail and motor boats. Laura's career saw her evolve into a specialist house restorer, particularly of local Conch houses. Her skills saw her win numerous awards including those from the highly regarded Key West historical society. Preserving historical property was a great passion of Laura's and something at which she excelled.  While in Key West, she was routinely tasked with leading significant projects for private individuals as well corporations. That said, to her friends it was always a source of great amusement how a tiny 5ft 1 inch woman could be bossing around teams of crusty tradesmen to deliver all types of projects. In 2001, Laura moved to Massachusetts, where she specialized in high end fine finish painting services.  Laura also greatly enjoyed working for Brookfield Engineering for a number of years with her Uncle Don.

That Laura lived a remarkable life is undoubted. But it was a life all the more remarkable, because in England as an undiagnosed dyslexic she knew she would have been afforded few opportunities. Where many daunted might step back, she stepped resolutely forward, taking control of her destiny, determined to shape her future. A measure of that character and intelligence was that she simply refused to accept the constraints that 1980's England typified. Instead, with the fearless attributes that only true self-starters possess; she left England alone to forge that successful life in the United States, building not only her business, but also the physical home she lived in and most importantly to her, a network of friends who loved her.

No account of Laura could be complete without mentioning her enormous love of animals and in particular dogs. It was far from uncommon for Laura to return from an expedition with an abandoned or abused hound in tow. Laura would delight in adopting the newly rescued dog, showering it with love, affection and above all with her a safe place to call home. There is no doubt that Michael her dog when she passed will miss her just as much as we all will.

Laura touched everyone she met with her lightening wit and boundless optimism that she combined with a generosity of spirit that invariably transformed those lives for the better. Laura has gone and we must now somehow bear the unbearable. In doing so, we are minded of the opening line in the novel the Go-Between by LP Hartley. ''The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there''. Well, for those of us who remain it is surely the future that will be that foreign country, as we will no longer be blessed to tread that land in the company of a truly unique person.

A Memorial Service will be held at a date to be determined. Donations in Laura's memory can be made to K9's for Warriors, by mail to 114 Camp K9 Road, Ponte Vedra, FL 32081 or online at https://k9sforwarriors.org/