Alison Rae LaRoza

It is with heavy hearts that the LaRoza family shares that Alison Rae LaRoza, age 35, passed away on May 9, 2024 after a 13 day fight with septic shock cause by a rare condition known as necrotizing skin infection - estimated to affect only about 1 in every 100,000 people (National Institutes of Health, 2023).

Ali was born on October 4, 1988, in Tacoma, Washington, and was raised in the Central Valley of California. She graduated from California State University, Chico in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in early childhood development and a minor in Spanish. She graduated with her master's degree in leisure, youth, and human services from the University of Northern Iowa in 2014. She has worked for a variety of companies, though most-all centered around serving young people and her community.

Ali never met a stranger and had such an adventurous spirit. Her many friends would tell you that she was always making people laugh. She was also always willing to lend a hand, particularly to those in need. Thanks to her work with Camp Adventure and our family's racing events, she was able to travel much of the world including Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Senegal, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, Austria, Argentina, and Chile where she collected many memories as well as life-long friends.

What truly brought her joy was her involvement in rally car racing. She began that journey desert racing on a dirt bike at the age of 14, and continued with co-driving rally cars right until the week before she was hospitalized. She enjoyed the challenge and intricacy of co-driving, but particularly, it was the friendships that kept her coming back. Her smile was never bigger than on a rally weekend.

Alison participated in multiple organizations including American Rally Association, American Motorcycle Association, Camp Adventure, Chico State Dirt Bike Club, Best in the Desert, District 36, and the Lauren McCluskey Foundation, amongst others

Alison is survived by her parents, Steve and Debbie LaRoza; Her sister, Stephanie LaRoza; Her two nieces, Preslie and Noraa McClure; Her Grandparents Susan LaRoza, James and Margie Morgan; Her aunts Sandy Woodard, Jamie (David) Benaroch, and Melissa (Ryan) Hinch, her newly found Uncle Scott (Wendy) Davis; and her treasured dog, Lew. She is preceded in death by her grandfather, JD LaRoza.

Because Ali has such a widespread family and group of friends, we are planning three celebrations of life located in New Hampshire, Washington, and Texas. Dates and specific locations to be announced soon.

We would also like to express our extreme gratitude to the Blake 12 ICU team at Massachusetts General Hospital. Every single staff member, no matter their position, worked tirelessly to try to help Ali. They treated her like she, too, was their daughter or sister. We will never forget how well we were all taken care of while we were there.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Lauren McCluskey foundation - supporting research and providing funding to improve response to relationship violence on college campuses. To make a donation, click on the links below. Alternatively, donations can be sent to 1256 SE Bishop Blvd, STE J, Pullman, WA 99163.

https://laurenmccluskey.org/ways-to-donate/