Laura Anne Grubl Gillette, 27, beloved wife of Matthew Gillette and daughter of Gary and Leslie Grubl and sister of Alex Grubl, passed away Oct. 20, 2011 after a year long battle against MDS. Her year long struggle for life against this Bone Marrow Disease proved what a courageous, strong and self-reliant woman she was. Special thank you to the nurses and doctors at Mayo Hospital for their expertise, and more than that, like family, they loved Laura for her determination, bravery and intellect.
Born on May 25, 1984 in Orlando, Fl, Laura became a gifted and AP student at Lake Mary High School and Honor Grad. She received a full Bright Future's scholarship to the U of F, graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Anthropology. On another grant from UF she completed grad study with a BS in Business management. At UF she also joined the co-ed honor fraternity Phi Sigma Pi and enjoyed long lasting meaningful friendships that continued even to visits at her hospice bedside. Laura had an amazing intellect, memory for facts and and a quick wit that gathered her friendships and respect wherever she lived. She was a voracious reader and this was a great asset to her knowledge base and provided her entertainment in the hospital. Thank u to the many friends who donated from her book list.
She met Matt, her future husband at UF and both continued to be avid Gator fans throughout college and their subsequent 3 year marriage. They had a picture book wedding and she has remained best friends with her bridesmaids, who were more than supportive during her illness. Matt was in UF ROTC and became an Army Ranger and Captain. Laura developed an intriguing balance between being a dedicated Army wife and her definitely Democratic political voice. While Matt was deployed in Afghanistan for their first year of marriage she moved to Wash. DC to manage the office of a Democratic fundraising company and then when Matt returned home she discovered her talent for volunteering as a mentor for wives whose husbands were deployed and became fast friends with several Army wives. She also became a runner and participated in the Army 10 miler and eventually a 1/2 marathon. She enjoyed working out at the Army base gym regularly. Her interest in photography was always present and she took engagement photos and amazing pics of Washington DC monuments that she had previously jogged around. She also developed an extensive blog site including her list of 101 goals in 1001 days, a character building list she had crossed out as the goals were accomplished: reading famous novels, doing situps, volunteer activities, travel, etc. Laura was an example of a self-motivated, life-learner, who was inspirational to many of her friends. They have developed a facebook site for those who run, to wear a t-shirt for Laura, encouraging people to donate Bone Marrow at bethematch.org. As her surviving parents Leslie and Gary Grubl and her brother Alex, we would also ask you to donate blood and plateletes in honor of Laura, as she received 100's of transfusions during the last year. You are in our hearts and prayers Laura as "she flies with her own wings" (Laura's Blog title).
Memorial service: Baldwin Fairchild 5000 46A Lake Mary, Florida 10-12 noon on Sunday Oct 30, Flowers or a donation to www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
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