Laurie Martin

1955 - 2025

Laurie Martin
09/29/1955 - 07/16/2025
Laurie Lenore Martin was born September 29, 1955 in San Francisco, California at Letterman Hospital on the military base of the Presidio. She lived, learned and worked in the City for the majority of her life as did her parents, Fred J. Martin Jr. and Shirlee Anne Martin, and one brother, Drew Martin (presently residing in Lake Worth Beach, Florida and Sun Lakes, Arizona). Laurie held a quiet intelligence, was always welcoming, and made friends quickly. She attended San Francisco State University where she was active on the University Student Body Board and contributed to the interior design of the unusual student union building on the sprawling center lawn. Laurie was athletic and articulate, rode a ten-speed to and from campus and was ever present for a spirited debate. She graduated in 1980 and later attended graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley.
She was married three times - to Jerzy Siemiatkows, Pierre Reynolds (deceased) with whom she lived on Maui, Hawaii; and then wed to her final true companion Patrick Linden (deceased) of California. Laurie worked diligently in educational material sales, a natural with studied and self-informed pitch, and, later, alongside her father editing and cataloguing his published historical and political texts. She volunteered with a local association of the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) and became involved with Stephen Ministries offering one-on-one witness and kindnesses to others experiencing difficulties in their lives, a concept not lost on Laurie with many challenges of her own. Yet, Laurie could always bring a sincere laugh of recognition and compassion. She relished the variety of her native city including Stonestown Galleria as a teen, the beauty of Grace Cathedral as an adult, and the forever sidewalks and street corners of her home district, West Portal, for a seafood lunch or Italian dinner out, along with barre fitness classes to maintain her agelessness. She was long comforted by her feline companion Butterscotch.
Laurie is predeceased by her father who passed in 2024. Laurie's surviving mother Shirlee, brother Drew and his wife Christine were monumental advocates and loving hands until the very end of Laurie's life. Laurie slipped away following a heroic dance with cancer for far too many years, ever determined to be among the last standing. She died in the early morning of July 16, 2025. It was her mother's 91st birthday.
Laurie's college roommate, Robyn Covelli-Hunt (Santa Fe, NM) who remained a friend for 51 years, remembers that when they first rented an apartment together that, with no permission granted whatsoever, they painted the bedroom ceiling a light sky blue and dotted it with glow-in-the-dark stars, imagined constellations. Laurie's perseverance, wit, pixie posture, and broad, bright face like a nightlight moon will long be missed by family, caregivers, and friends.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 20 from 4pm until 8pm at Duggan's Serra Mortuary, 500 Westlake Ave., Daly City. A memorial service will be held at The Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 2325 Union Street, San Francisco on Thursday, August 21, 2025 at 11am with a reception following the service. Valet parking will be available.