Lauris June "Laurie" Schweitzer

1951 - 2023

Mystic - Lauris June "Laurie" (Mandelburg) Schweitzer, 72, of Mystic, passed away surrounded by her loving family Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023.

Laurie is survived by her loving and devoted husband Jonathan; daughter Jennifer (Barbour) Larrow and her husband Kevin, of Mystic; daughter Kathryn (Schweitzer) Pelletier and her husband Ron of Old Saybrook, and their four children: Cameron Salas, Winnie, Amelia and Caiden; daughter Kimberly Schweitzer and her husband Bryan Marks of Santa Cruz, Calif.; sister Pam of Mystic; and nephew Chris of Mystic; and brother Gary and his wife Mary of Waterford.

Laurie was born to June (Dewhurst) and Hervey Mandelburg July 23, 1951, in Biloxi, Miss., on Keesler AFB. The family later moved to Hackettstown, N.J., before settling in Stonington, where she graduated from high school in 1969. She moved to Waterford in 1977, where she was active with the Representative Town Meeting.

Having been a travel agent for years, she delighted in helping her customers plan their adventures. In 1982, she decided to go into business for herself, opening Nutmeg Travel Agency in East Lyme. After the 1988 Flanders Plaza fire, her passion for the business drove her to keep it up and running out of a trailer in the Plaza parking lot until the building could be rebuilt. In her capacity as a business owner, Laurie joined the East Lyme Chamber of Commerce and was at one time its chairperson. She also sponsored Little League Softball teams in both East Lyme and Waterford. Her travels brought her to numerous destinations in the U.S. and around the globe including Panama, Thailand, the Philippines, the Galapagos Islands, and her home away from home, Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas. She was also fortunate enough to sail aboard Queen Elizabeth 2 on two occasions, once with her mother June and once with her daughter Jennifer, a highlight for all three ladies. In her retirement, Laurie volunteered at the Waterford Senior Center and New London Area Food Pantry. She also served on the Waterford Senior Services Commission and the Waterford Mural Wall Committee, raising funds for the Waterford Senior Service Endowment and Waterford Recreation and Parks.

Laurie loved fishing Long Island Sound for blues and bass. She was also an avid gardener who loved a large array of lavender abuzz with honeybees, a passion passed to her by her mother that she passed onto her daughter.

Her "tiki family" in Hollywood Beach, Fla., where she and Jonathan wintered for ten years, mourns the loss of "a beautiful light" in their circle of friends. Laurie will be remembered as a kind and loving mother, wife, friend and a great cook who always made holidays into joyous gatherings and brought glimmers of light to the darkest of moments.

Her family will receive relatives and friends from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Mystic Funeral Home located on Route 1 in Mystic. A service will immediately follow at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.