Laurie Shannon-Peaslee

With teary eyes and broken hearts, the family of Laurie Ann Shannon-Peaslee of Westborough sadly announce that she died unexpectedly on Jan. 11 at the age of 63 at UMass Medical Center as a result of complications during her courageous fight with cancer. She was surrounded in her last minutes by her adoring husband of 23-plus years, William A. Peaslee (former longtime resident of Hopkinton), her loving parents, Robert and Lois (DeSantis) Shannon of Milford, her sister-in-law, Beverly Mulkey of Northborough, and close friends Kim Knox and Rick Souza of Milford.

Born Sept. 8, 1959, Laurie was the only child of Robert and Lois Shannon. She was raised in Milford and was a graduate of Milford High. Laurie went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Westfield State College, then a master’s degree from Framingham State College. She was a gifted teacher who devoted her career to helping individuals with special needs recognize their potential. She began her career at the Evergreen Center of Milford, later working 30 years for the Leicester school system, predominantly and before retirement at the high school as a special education inclusion teacher.

Laurie and William met in November of 1893. Together they bought a house and moved to Westborough in April of 1996, and were married amongst family and friends in Bermuda during August of 1999. Laurie loved to travel with William; their adventures took them all over the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean, London and more. Her favorite places were Bermuda, Key West (Florida), Bar Harbor (Maine) and Hawaii. When not traveling, she truly enjoyed the simple things: shopping with her husband, looking for new finds for their home, crafting, flowers, planting, working around and enjoying their yard. She was an avid reader, especially on warm days while lying on her treasured comfy hammock, and was very good at drawing and painting. Laurie also was amazing in the kitchen, and her cooking will be sorely missed.

Besides her parents and husband, Laurie leaves behind many close family members as well, including her Aunt Judy and Uncle Ernest Kapatoes, Joann Costantino, her nieces and a nephew, cousins, friends and valued colleagues, as well their beloved cats, Tiki and Kailani.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, Feb. 12, from 12:30-3:30 p.m. at Chesmore Funeral Home of Hopkinton, 57 Hayden Rowe Street. A memorial service will take place at 2 p.m. Interment at Evergreen Cemetery in Hopkinton will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please remind those who matter to you of your love, and do something nice for them.

Obituaries are submissions, typically from funeral homes, that are not subject to the same level of editorial oversight as the rest of the Hopkinton Independent. Obituaries may be edited for grammatical and factual mistakes and clarifications and shortened for space considerations.