Lianne S. Laurence

Lianne Susan Laurence, 59, of Waltham, passed away at home on October 15, 2025.
Born October 31, 1965, in Morristown, NJ, Lianne was the daughter of the late Judy Alexander Johnson and the late William G. Laurence. Lianne and her younger sister Jennifer Aileen Laurence were initially raised in New Jersey and then Florida. Lianne lived the majority of her life, however, in Massachusetts; the last 40+ years in the Waltham area.
Lianne was born deaf. She attended the Perkins School in Watertown and became quite skilled at communicating in sign language. She also communicated effectively, and playfully, with the hearing world, be it via writing notes or gesturing until folks understood exactly what she wanted. Lianne worked a variety of jobs, most notably as a dishwasher at Friendly's and as an assembler through the Walnut Street Center program based in Medford. Lianne, however, very much enjoyed taking early retirement and being an active member of the Work Community Independence (WCI) community.
Lianne loved her lifelong best friend Renee Miranda, also of Waltham, and wanted to do everything with her, including WCI-led field trips. They would spend hours on FaceTime when they were apart.
WCI is the Waltham-based program that supported Lianne for close to four decades. Care providers at WCI fondly recalled that Lianne was always curious about where others lived and wanted to see their cities. Lianne often discussed what and where traveling dreams were next. She always wanted to find a place with a beach or a pool. Lianne was also a video game fanatic and frequently purchased new games and gaming systems. Lianne enjoyed going out to eat, though picky she loved pepperoni pizza and cheese steak subs from her favorite restaurant, Waltham House of Pizza.
Lianne loved the WCI staff who worked with her and would text them multiple times daily, most recently with Amanda Conway. Even when staff no longer worked at WCI, Lianne would keep in touch and coordinate independent visits with them, especially Mike Palmer, James Hammond, and Claudia Campbell.
Lianne was predeceased by her younger sister Jennifer who passed away in 1996.
Lianne is survived by her brother Sean Laurence, now living in Vietnam, and his wife, Wendy, and young sons William and Thomas. Lianne was especially close with her cousin Betsy Lawson, of Maynard, and Betsy's children Sarah and Tim with whom Lianne and Renee spent many happy holidays. She is also survived by her stepfather George Johnson of Richmond, VA, and his daughter Nikole Cox of Matoaca, VA. Additionally, she leaves her cousin James Anderson of Takoma Park, MD, and his wife, Sue, and their children Isabel and Ian.
Community members are welcome to join in a Celebration of Lianne's Life, to be held at WCI located, 610 Lincoln Street, Suite 120, North Building, Waltham, MA 02451. On Thursday, Oct. 30, from noon-2:30pm. The event is a drop in; folks welcome to arrive and leave at any time.
At 1pm, those gathered will be encouraged to share special memories about Lianne. Interpreters will be available.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Work Community Independence, 610 Lincoln Street, Suite 120, North Building, Waltham, MA 02451.
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