Laura Reed

Laura L. Reed, 57, of La Grande, died Nov. 18 on the island of Maui. Funeral services will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Church of The Nazarene in La Grande.

Laura was born April 3, 1952, to Howard Eugene Hancock and Donna Jean (Parker) Hancock in Prineville. Laura's family moved to La Grande in 1956. She attended grade school at Greenwood Elementary through third grade, and then her family moved to Dubois, Wyo. Laura finished high school in Dubois and was awarded a summer scholarship to study art at a college in Kansas.

On Sept. 18, 1971, Laura married Monte Reed. She had told her mother when she was in the second grade that she would someday marry him. Laura and Monte dated through junior high and high school and married in the fall of 1971, after Laura's graduation.

Laura and Monte moved to La Grande from Wyoming in 1975 to open Blue Mountain Auto Parts and return to the valley they both always felt was home. Laura and Monte had four daughters - Melanie Ann and Pamela Jean, born in Riverton, Wyo., and Rachel Dee and Amanda Louise, born in La Grande. Together they raised a family and enjoyed more than 38 years of marriage.

Laura's other love in life outside of her family was art. After her daughters were all in school she returned to college at Eastern Oregon University and attained a bachelor of arts degree. Those who knew Laura say she was an accomplished artist in numerous mediums. Sculpting was her favorite but she also painted, made pottery, made stained glass, beaded, sewed and more. She participated for several years in Season's Faire, donating her art work for auctions to support art. She was also a master gardener.

Laura was a Stage-4 breast cancer survivor of more than five years. One of her biggest thrills in life was being with her daughters as they had their own children.

She enjoyed traveling with family and was able to enjoy many trips with her husband, having visited San Antonio, Cabo San Lucas, Puerta Vallarta, Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, New Orleans, Nashville and both American Disney resorts with her children and grandkids. She enjoyed several trips to Hawaii with family, Maui being a favorite destination.

Survivors include her husband, Monte of La Grande; brothers, Michael Hancock of Casper, Wyo., Ronald (Gus) Hancock of Wilsonville; daughters and sons-in-law, Melanie and Leroy Sunada of Meridian, Idaho, Pamela and Shane Rohde of Gresham, Rachel and Don Newcomb of Portland and Amanda Reed of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and nine grandchildren. Extended family includes sisters, brothers, parents-in-law, uncles, aunts and cousins. She was preceded in death by both of her parents.

.