Laurie Giard Ross

Laurie Giard Ross

Greenfield, MA - Laurie Giard Ross, a beloved community member, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, died August 12, 2025 of health complications that developed during six years of living with leukemia.

She was born Laurie Jean Giard on August 27, 1956, the fourth of five children of Norma (Herzig) and Raymond Giard of Colrain. She felt deeply connected to the land on which she grew up, and spent her life as a seeker, educator, and learner.

Laurie graduated from Mohawk Trail Regional High School and later from Greenfield Community College's outdoor leadership program. She worked as an environmental educator and cross-country ski instructor at Northfield Mountain, a director of several area after-school programs, and a naturalist in state parks. She raised two children with her first husband and wanted to make sure they had access to opportunities she did not have herself, which came to include a four-year period of homeschooling.

She enjoyed running, cycling, backpacking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing, as well as gardening, making crafts, and watercolor painting. She forged her own spiritual path, which included Vipassana and attendance at All Souls Church, though she always said the outdoors was her church. Later in life she found support from her Insight Meditation sangha and from the study of nonviolent communication.

Laurie graduated from Argosy University in Sarasota, Florida with a bachelor's degree in psychology and married Stephen Ross while living in Asheville, North Carolina. She moved back to western Massachusetts with Stephen to help take care of her son Lucas in his illness, and stayed to be close to his surviving children.

Laurie sought to always be intentional and transparent in her actions and to understand herself spiritually, and her composure, strength, warmth, and laughter are dearly missed by friends and family. She was predeceased by her father, her beloved aunt Virginia (Herzig) Kelleher, her older sister Cheralyn (Giard) Call, her first husband John Handschuh, their son Lucas, and Lucas's wife Rebecca. She is survived by her mother, Norma Giard of Deland, FL; brothers Steven Giard of Marlboro, VT, Kevin Giard of Lake Helen, FL, and Richard Giard of Colrain; a number of nieces and nephews; husband Stephen Ross of Greenfield and his children Amanda, Jordan, and Carter, who she cared for deeply; daughter Julia Handschuh of Turners Falls; and grandchildren Serias (Hannah) and Ray (Eleanor) Handschuh of Turners Falls.

A celebration of life will be held Sunday, September 7 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Riverview Pavillion, 156 Pine Meadow Road in Northfield. See www.tinyurl.com/laurie1956 for more details including a rain location. In lieu of flowers, donations in Laurie's memory may be made to a cause of your choosing.