Laura Herrmann, 78, passed away on May 30, 2024 in the loving company of her spouse of 56 years, Fred, daughter, Julia Sparrow, and son, Benjamin Herrmann.

She is also survived by grandchildren, Lauren and Ronald Herrmann and cousins, Suzy and Edward Figueroa.

Laura and her twin Virginia were born in Nogales, Arizona in April 1946. Virginia died in infancy.

Laura was raised in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico but attended American schools where she excelled in all subjects and gave early indication of the powerful intellect that she would possess.

Laura enrolled at the University of Arizona at the age of 17, after only 3 years of high school. She was an outstanding scholastic performer, graduating at the top of her pharmacy class. She was one of only 3women in a class of 90. She met the love of her life, Fred, at the university, and they were married in September of 1968.

They moved to California where Laura began her professional career as a pharmacist.

As one of few women in this profession at this time, she faced prejudice and discrimination in both hiring and the workplace. Nonetheless, Laura met the challenges presented with courage, determination, and resolve.

This adversity did not deter her from always treating people with kindness and compassion, nor would she let it detract from providing the highest level of professional excellence.

Early in her career, while raising two children, she faced the life-challenging reality of a cancer diagnosis.

With courage and determination, she fought the disease into remission and refused to let it dominate her life.

Subsequent to this challenge, Laura continued to grow professionally: she became the manager of a hospital pharmacy; she spearheaded a shift from an older style of paper-based operations to cutting edge computer-based operations. She loved being a pharmacist and welcomed any challenge, whether technical, financial, or managerial.

Sadly, in less than a decade, cancer returned with a more ferocious and devastating attack. Again, after a second monumental battle with the disease, Laura emerged victorious and remained the same loving, kind and caring person as always.

In retirement, Laura fell in love with needle arts activities.

In addition to artistic projects, she took on active leadership roles in needle arts organizations.

More importantly, she built many lasting and cherished relationships.

Another passion for Laura was her grandchildren. She loved watching them enjoy high mountain summers and snowy winters: fishing, hiking and playing in the wild.

Laura was also an adventurous soul. She traveled the world, from the wilderness of Baja California to the Great Wall of China. From the majesty of Tibet to the vale of Kasmir –she was always open to learning about other people and their cultures.

Tragically, after almost 20 years, Laura was presented with the knowledge she had stage 4 metastatic cancer.

She was able to fight the battle with newer and specialized medicines that helped her keep this new attack at bay for almost 5 years. She continued doing what she loved – spending time with her grandchildren, socializing with friends, and maintaining her leadership roles in the needle arts community (this, as late as January 2024).

Some may say that at long last the cancer had finally won. Nothing could be further from the truth. Laura never gave in. With grace and courage, her battle is an example of what the human spirit is capable of. Love defined Laura’s life. She had a beautiful soul, whose love and kindness touched all who knew her. She will be missed. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10am on Thursday, June 6, 2024 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in San Pedro. Please sign the guestbook at mcnerneysmortuary.com.