Laurie Herziger
Laurie passed away on November 15, 2022. She was a lifelong resident of Santa Barbara, born at Cottage Hospital on June 5, 1961, the youngest child of June and Lud Herziger.
The Herziger kids had a great childhood, growing up on Mountain Drive when it was still considered to be ‘out in the country’. There was never-ending fun spending countless hours catching polliwogs, frogs, and lizards. These, in turn, became pets; thus began Laurie’s lifelong love of animals.
Childhood weekends were often spent over the mountains fishing and swimming in the river, then camping with friends at Upper Oso Campground. The family enjoyed memorable vacations to Carmel, Catalina, and Yosemite and best of all, many weeks during the summer, camping at El Capitan State Beach.
Laurie attended Jefferson and Cleveland Elementary Schools, Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High School. She was manager of Piccadilly Gold in Piccadilly Square, then went on to Santa Barbara Business College which began her accounting career at Forms & Surfaces, then Cutter Motors, and for the last 17 years, at CMC Rescue. With her great humor and enthusiasm, she formed many enduring friendships along the way. Laurie was creative and artistic and is known to many in Santa Barbara as owner of Sea Garden Jewelry. Her beautiful shell, coral and natural stone creations were a mainstay of the Harbor Festival, where you could find her each year in the very first booth.
She always had a myriad of pets. It was quite a zoo: dogs, cats, ducks, a hen, iguanas, rabbits, birds and fish. All of which were lucky enough to live in her lush garden. Laurie was an amazing gardener and her yard was a secret refuge of tropical plants such as orchids, hibiscus, ginger and gardenias. It was a wonderful getaway where she famously hosted ‘happy hour’ festivities.
Always ready for a new adventure, she traveled to Jamaica and Puerto Vallarta, but most often you could find Laurie and friends in Hawaii, preferably ‘bobbling’ in the warm water of Waikiki. After a hard day of snorkeling, hiking, exploring, and shopping, it was off to the Royal Hawaiian for mai tais and to watch an awesome sunset.
Her friends and family miss her great strength and wit. She valiantly fought cancer for years without complaint. Her motto was ‘Just Do it’. Her passing has left an unimaginably empty place in the lives of all who knew her. She is survived by her mother, June Herziger, brother John Herziger(Carrie), sister Susie Roberts, nephews Sam Roberts(Keri) and Steven Roberts(Janese), niece Marie Herziger and her great-nephews and nieces, Brody Roberts, Samantha Roberts, Sunny Roberts, and Rardon Herziger. Laurie was known not as ‘great-aunt’ but as ‘terrific-aunt’.
Much gratitude to Nancy Vergara and cousin Jan (Herziger) Collins for their support and comfort. A Celebration of Life will be held this spring with great music, great food and great friends.
Donations in Laurie’s memory can be made to K-9 Pals (k-9pals.org), or Beagle Freedom Project (bfp.org).