Laurie Gestal Clare

Laurie Gestal Clare, age 71, passed away on September 3rd, 2022, surrounded by her 6 daughters, her twin brother Lee and her husband Edward. Laurie is survived by her daughters Lee, Brooke, Paige, Bree, Tieal and Logan, their husbands David Robertson, Sander Brooks, Aaron Kobernick, Jake Hollimon, and Marshall Duane, her sisters Pamela Mills and Amy Luetters, her brothers Lee, Kenny and Dean Gestal, and her 15 grandchildren Maeve, Brodie, Rory, Marley, Sydney, Harper, Maple, Morgan, Ryland, Dylan, Nash, Oakley, Marshall, Clementine and Wesley. Laurie is being welcomed into Heaven by her parents Joseph and Isabelle Gestal, her sister Mary Beth and husband Bruce Weber, and her partner Craig Bales.

Laurie was raised in Amityville, NY with her siblings, and spent her childhood riding her bike around the neighborhood, developing her artistic talent and trying to keep her brother Lee out of trouble. After graduating from Marist College in 1973, Laurie married Edward Clare Jr, and raised their 6 daughters first in DelrayBeach, FL, then in Franklin Lakes, NJ. Laurie returned to Florida however in 2001 to pursue her lifelong dream of being a blonde, and then spent her final years in Palm City with Brooke and Sander, and their daughters, happily tending to the bridges that cross the Intracoastal.

Laurie was loved by all who had the good fortunate of meeting her, but is a legend to her grandchildren, with whom she spent hours doing crafts with, sneaking treats to, going on shopping sprees to Goodwill and the Dollar Store with, and most famously for jumping into the pool while wearing all their clothes.

Laurie lived her life with kindness and virtue, always doing what was right rather than what was expected. She spent many years as a commissioner on the Franklin Lakes Recreation Board and fought for equality for girls in sports, never once folding to the pressures of the majority. Any home that Laurie lived in was always open to everyone; friends, family and strangers, and the limits of her kindness, warmth, and goodwill were never reached before she passed.

Other than with the people in her life, the place that Laurie was at her best was when she was making art. Her work not only represented her talent and creativity, but also her joy and generosity for everyone around her. Laurie found as much delight in giving away her creations as she did in making them, always wanting to gift those she loved with a piece of her.

Laurie spent her final years fighting for her life with a strength much bigger than her body, defying the odds all the way up to the end, and even having enough left to pass on to her children and grandchildren. And now, like the origami cranes she filled our hearts and homes with, Laurie has spread her wings and flown into the comfort of a familiar face. "To love another person is to see the face of God."

Laurie's final wish was granted when she said goodbye to her family, and she asked that we honor her in our prayers and hearts instead of a memorial.