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Laurie Hernandez Obituary
Born on Nov. 22, 1950, in Ann Arbor, Mich., to the late Raymond and Pauline Curran, she grew up in Los Angeles, Calif.
After graduating from UCLA, Laurie attended Pratt Institute in New York. Moving to San Francisco, Calif., she worked for national architecture firms before starting her own company, Design Forum Inc. She led this commercial interior design company for more than 37 years, designing stores, offices, and restaurants throughout the United States, focusing on the mid-Atlantic region.
She was married to Robert W. Hernandez for 35 years, most of that time in the Washington, D.C. area, where her two beloved boys were born and where she leaves behind a group of special friends. She and her family moved to Essex/Centerbrook in 2010 where she became involved in her community and found great joy in her new friends. A vibrant, gracious and caring woman, she loved art, architecture and appreciating other cultures through the travel that took her and her family to every continent.
In addition to her husband, Laurie is survived by her two sons, Alexander Hernandez of Portland, Maine and Christopher Hernandez of Boston, Mass. She also leaves behind her two brothers, Kevin Curran and his wife, Mary, of Iowa and Jeffrey Curran of Minnesota; a niece, Chloe Curran of Minnesota; as well as her sister-in law, Margaret Hernandez of Florida.
A service in celebration of Laurie's life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 8, at St. John's Episcopal Church in Essex.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Florence Griswold Museum, 96 Lyme St., Old Lyme, CT 06371 or to Sister Cities Essex Haiti at sistercitiesessexhaiti.org.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Laurie Hernandez
3 Entries
Margaret Peterson Handin
March 31, 2024
Dear Laurie and I worked together at EPR in San Francisco and then Laurie hired me to help on a commercial office project when she had formed Design Forum. She was a very thoughtful and interesting woman. I had a great deal of respect for Laurie and her talent. She was ethical and kind.
We eventually lost touch when she married and moved to Washington and we were both raising our boys. I am sorry that we did lose touch.
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Margaret Peterson (Handin)
May 20, 2022
Hello to Robert and Sons,
I knew Laurie a long time ago in San Francisco. We worked together at EPR and then I did some free lance work for Laurie´s new firm, Design Forum.
I was very saddened to only hear about her passing away at an EPR Reunion. I was stunned. Laurie was so beautiful, full of life and healthy that it just caught me off guard.
When Laurie met Bob in the Galapagos, it was love and I was so happy for her! But it ultimately meant moving to DC. And we lost touch. A lifetime has passed but I am delighted to read that it sounds like Laurie had a wonderful and full life. May she Rest In Peace. So sorry for your early loss of a dear beautiful woman. Sincerely, Margaret Peterson
Don Zakarin
April 16, 2017
Rob and Family:
I am so saddened to have stumbled over this. I was in DC for 6 weeks on a trial and thought of you both, not knowing you had moved. Obviously we lost contact years ago but my affection for Laurie, who was such a dear friend to me when we were all so much younger, did not diminish. She was so warm, so embracing and so encouraging. I am grateful for having had her friendship for the time we did have together. I am so sorry for your loss.
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