The funeral for Laurie Ann Elston, 59, Valley City, North Dakota, will be 11 am Friday, December 27, 2024, at the Oliver-Nathan Funeral Chapel, Valley City. Visitation will be one hour before the service in the chapel. Burial will be in the Hope Cemetery, Hope, North Dakota. Laurie passed away December 23, at Mercy Hospital, Valley City.
The first part of her obituary was written by her father prior to his death in 2017. She was the daughter of Don and Carol (Nelson) Elston. The summer our daughter Laurie Ann was born on July 23 rd , 1965, at Mayville, North Dakota, I was out haying road ditches and wherever there was grass to cut. I had been at the hospital in Mayville most of the night when Laurie finally decided to enter this world. I went home. Like I said I was haying, and this was before any cell phones so one of my neighbors came and told me I should go back to the hospital which I did. This is when I found out Laurie was not normal and had a mental handicap. Some of the joy I was feeling left me. Carol and I talked about it and decided we would do what we could for her. Laurie took a lot more care than a normal baby. Carol did a great job right from the start. Laurie has given us a kind of joy that most parents don’t have. Laurie spent several years with the Open Door in Valley City before entering SMP Health-St. Raphael. Laurie was a happy person and loved to give hugs out. She enjoyed combing fixing hair by
combing it out and putting barrettes in. She liked to color and would set and do that while watching football but enjoyed the coloring more. One thing that Laurie really loved was her coffee and it had to be hot… if it cooled down, she would insist it be put in the microwave to reheat it. She was the sweetest soul. When she would visit at home, in Hope, her nephew, Jeremy, gave her the nickname, Larry, which stuck with her when he would talk about her. One of Laurie’s favorite times of the year was Christmas. She loved singing Christmas songs.
She is survived by her mother, Carol, Valley City; two brothers Curt and Paul (Kesey Cole) all of Hope; a nephew Jeremy Elston and a niece Kaylauna Cooley.
She was preceded in death by her father Don, a brother Gary and a nephew Randy Cole.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Oliver-Nathan Funeral Chapel. An online guestbook is available at www.olivernathanchapel.com