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Lauri Irene Weidenhaft
May 8th, 1956 - August 19th, 2024
Lauri Irene (Lund) Weidenhaft, 68, was born on May 8, 1956 at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene to her parents, Marvin S. Lund and Audrey E. Lund. She was the youngest of 3 siblings. The other two are Jack (deceased), married to Connie, and Susan, married to Don.
They lived on South 19th Street in Springfield. She went to Brattain Elementary school. In 1968 they moved to a newer and larger home in Gamebird Village in Springfield. From there she went to Cal Young Junior High and Sheldon High School, where she graduated in 1974.
She had a love of horses ever since she was a little girl. Her parents would buy her Breyer horses as gifts, and she ended up with a large herd of them. Then in 1971, at age 15, her parents bought her a real Quarter Horse mare. She kept her at the barn on Game Farm Road and rode with her friend Cindy, who also had a horse there.
In 1972, she met another horse owner, Rick Weidenhaft. They dated for 2 years, then were engaged for 13 months.
Lauri started attending church with her mom at Wayside Open Bible Chapel in 1966. She asked Jesus to be her personal savior and became a born again Christian shortly after. Her mother often said, "You might be the only Bible someone reads today," so Lauri lived her life doing her best to be a good example of Jesus Christ's love to the world, and she passed that philosophy to her own family. After they started dating, she asked Rick to attend also. On November 8, 1975 they were married at Wayside Open Bible Chapel by Pastor Ray Rexius.
That same day, he carried her across the threshold of their new home. It, of course, had a barn and acreage for their 3 horses: a Quarter Horse a pair of Appaloosas, mother and son.
She was self driven and began seeking employment at an early age. Starting with picking beans in her teenage summers and then being a car hop at A&W on Coburg Road and at 29th and Willamette Street. After getting married, she worked at K-Mart, Fred Meyer, Al Beckett and Assoc. Realtors, then as a legal secretary for a local law firm.
Then children came along. In 1983 she had her first, a daughter, Megan, 5 weeks premature, and 3 years later, in 1986, a son, Eric, who was also early. They both had to spend 14 days in NICU before coming home. Both instances were difficult for Lauri because she was in one hospital and both babies needed to be transported to another hospital, but both kids grew up happy and healthy.
Lauri, wanting to work, but also be home with her kids, started an in-home childcare business. Megan was old enough at that time to be her little helper. She treated the kids with the same
kindness, love, and compassion that she gave to her own. She strongly believed that everyone deserves to be welcomed, respected, encouraged, supported, and loved.
The year her kids started high school and middle school, respectively, Lauri got a job with the Springfield School District. A few years later, she applied and got hired on with the US Bankruptcy Court, finishing off her various careers at the US Courthouse.
Her hobbies included sewing, making all of us clothes, blankets, and pillows, raising various animals as pets, including dogs, cats, various rodents, fish, cows, chickens (her girlies, who provided us with delicious eggs), and horses (of course), jogging, bike riding, being in the church choir, gardening, brain puzzles including crosswords, sudoku, cryptograms, and Tetris, square dancing, and clog dancing, which lead to her becoming the cure and instructor of the Misty Valley Cloggers. The Misty Valley Cloggers performed at many events, including Oktoberfest, Bohemia Mining Days, the Festival of Trees, the Filbert Festival, as well as floats in parades in Springfield and Eugene. They also did performances for private events by request. She co-chaired, with her husband, the clogging program of the Oregon Mid-Winter Square Dance Festival from 1995 through 2024. To share her love of clog dancing, she taught clog dancing classes 11 months out of the year for beginners up through intermediate skill levels from 1994 through 2020.
Lauri was an incredible woman. She was a kind and generous woman. She was always willing to help those in need; there was nothing she wouldn't give or do to help someone. She was a wonderful caregiver and was always willing to be a nurse to those who needed assistance. She was fearless. She would not sit idly by in difficult situations. She was always willing to stand up for what was right and would defend those who needed protection. Her sense of humor was a constant joy to those around her. If she saw someone who was down, she did everything she could to alleviate their burdens and lift their spirits. She treated everyone like they were family and was never afraid to start up a conversation with a stranger. She often said, "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet, and friends are the family you choose." She loved meeting new people and hearing their stories and sharing hers with them. She was a one-woman cheer squad that could whistle loud enough to make you feel like you could accomplish anything; you never had to wonder if she was in the audience. She was incredibly wise and would offer counsel to anyone who sought it. She had a great depth of life experience and a wide breadth of knowledge. Her deep love of animals wouldn't let her ignore an animal in need and she took in many strays and gave them a wonderful forever home. It also led to a relationship with local animal control. If there was a horse loose in the area (and one time an emu named Peaches), she would often receive a call and be asked to go help capture it safely, transport it, and sometimes house it temporarily until the owner could be located. Lauri was the most dependable person I have ever known. If she said she would do or take care of something, there
was no doubt that it would be done. She was always calm in a crisis. If there was ever an emergency, you could count on her. Many friends and family contacted her in their hour of need and she was always there, day or night. Lauri was amazingly resilient and had an immense inner strength; she endured a great multitude of hardships in her life and still persevered and managed to hold her head high and smile. She was a loving and devoted wife and the best mom anyone could ever ask for. She will be dearly missed and remembered fondly forever. Everyone who had the privilege of having Lauri in their life is better for it.
Lauri died peacefully at home and went to be with Jesus in Heaven the evening of August 19th, 2024, with Rick, Megan, and Eric beside her.
There will be a Memorial Service on Saturday, October 12th at Springfield Faith Center at 2:00pm.
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Springfield Memorial Funeral Home
Making final arrangements for a loved one feels overwhelming. Knowing that you have a trusted and compassionate partner makes the process easier. At Springfield Memorial Funeral Home, we continue our 60-year legacy of care with a range of services, including our cremation facility and Lane County's largest cemetery, Springfield Memorial Gardens. We offer personalized options and accommodations that respect all faiths and traditions, with multiple chapels, private visitation rooms, and multicultural tributes. Since 1963, Springfield families have entrusted our caring professionals with convenient and affordable end-of-life arrangements. At Springfield Memorial Funeral Home, we understand the importance of providing compassionate care tailored to each family's wishes....
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