Laura Ann Rabb

Laura Ann Rabb (nee Zanaboni), 54, passed away surrounded by her family from complications related to appendix cancer on December 31, 2022.

Laura is survived by her husband, Dan; her daughter, Karen Grace and son-in-law Thomas Boscardin; her siblings Angela (Dale) Oberkfell, David (Nancy) Zanaboni and Paul (Ann) Zanaboni; and her pets River (dog) and Kima (cat).

She is preceded in death by her parents, Joe and Shirley (nee Smallwood) Zanaboni, and the "best puppy ever", Dozer.

Laura was born January 27, 1968 in St. Louis, Missouri at St. Anthony's Hospital. She grew up in the Hill neighborhood of St. Louis, where she attended St. Ambrose Elementary School. Laura attended Ursuline Academy High School and then Washington University in St. Louis, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering (1991), as well as a Master's Degree in Engineering and policy (1996) and an MBA (2001).

While living in St. Louis, Laura worked for McDonnel Douglas, Ameritech and Edward Jones. In 2007, she and Dan moved to San Jose, California, where she focused her work on program management in the tech industry and worked at several companies including Apple and Google. During this time, she was awarded 35 patents focused on various aspects of technology. She enjoyed mentoring others and helping them excel in their own careers. Laura found great satisfaction in her work, and excelled in every aspect of it.

Laura had a wide variety of interests and hobbies. She loved to travel, especially with her family - one of her favorite places to visit was the island of Bonaire, where she enjoyed scuba diving in the beautiful reefs (and fighting off grumpy eels). Laura more recently took up rally car driving, which appealed to her adventurous side. She enjoyed race days with her friends and attending DirtFish driving school. She was an avid amateur photographer, which allowed her to spend more time in nature; and enjoyed mini golfing and playing board games with her family (and also enjoyed ignoring the rules in order to annoy Thomas). She had a deep love for her pets, caring for several dogs, a parrot, and an irritable cat throughout her life.

Laura's life was marked by a love for learning new things and taking on new adventures - and sharing those adventures with the people she loved. She was clever, caring, and curious - and she put a lot of herself into everything she did. She was a fun, caring (if sarcastic) mother; a loyal, loving (if sarcastic) spouse, and a kind, giving (if sarcastic) friend. She is very loved and will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, Laura requested that donations be made to the following organizations in her name: Planned Parenthood (https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-involved/other-ways-give, click on Honorary + Memorial Donation) or The Rare Cancer Research Foundation (https://rarecancer.org/donate/).

We are planning to have a celebration of life in San Jose, as well as St. Louis. Details are being decided. If you would like the information for these events, please email: us@rabb.org