Laurie (Laurene Ann) Bretz passed away peacefully on April 12, 2024, surrounded by dear friends and her sisters Meg and Amy. Her last words were, "I just want the wine!"

Laurie was born in Oshkosh, Nebraska, on February 23, 1956. She was the second of four daughters of Peg and John Bretz. She soaked in 4-H small-town values and came to love the outdoors. Her parents and extended family nurtured and inspired her love of diverse music and cultures. They also encouraged Laurie to be an independent, creative thinker and explorer of the world. Laurie's high school activities included debate,
ski club, piano and French horn.

Laurie attended college at the University of Kansas, earning her bachelor's degree in Radio, TV and Film. At the urging of an aunt and cousins who lived in Spain, and drawn by the allure of lively political and societal debates, Laurie spent her second year at the University of Pamplona in Spain and learned to speak Spanish fluently.

After college graduation, Laurie worked at the Spanish Speaking Office in Kansas City, where she taught ESL, supported immigrants and organized a visual documentary titled Trabajo y Cultura: The Mexican American Experience. Her next adventure took her to Colomoncagua, Honduras, where she worked for two years in a refugee camp for Salvadorans who had been displaced by civil war. Laurie was able to use her Spanish language skills to support people in very difficult circumstances. Even more, she formed lifelong friendships with many in Honduras and El Salvador and was delighted to see them again 25 years later on a reunion trip. Upon returning to the United States, Laurie spent 1985 traveling across the country, showing the documentary she made about the Salvadoran refugees and her experiences in Honduras, all while fundraising for the refugee organization.

Laurie's love of the mountains—and her proximity to western Nebraska—inspired her to move in 1986, first to Boulder, CO, and later to Denver. Laurie became a union organizer, where she used her fluency in Spanish to help launch the Denver Justice for Janitors campaign. She, her coworkers and the janitors advocated for fair pay and improved working conditions. In 1992, Laurie lived for a year in Brazil, covering the UN Earth Summit as a freelance journalist.

Back in Denver, Laurie bought and sold many houses for 30 years while working in the mortgage business. The majority of her business included working with hundreds of Spanish-speaking people who had difficulty navigating the mortgage world. Laurie retired from this business in 2012.

In the 1980s, Laurie began to see troubling signs of mental health issues affecting her dad and other family members. While living in Honduras in 1982, her dad was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease (HD), a hereditary neurological degenerative disease for which there is no cure. Over time, she would learn that her sister Julie, along with aunts and cousins, were also diagnosed with HD. Her sister Julie was an avid quilter.
After Julie's death, Laurie—always one to support progressive causes and people in need—spearheaded "Julie's Quilts." Working with the seamstress who sewed quilts Julie had designed, they made hundreds of quilts to raise funds to support HD research.

Laurie was diagnosed with HD in 2009 and fought valiantly to manage symptoms with lots of exercise, the strict Wahls Protocol diet, and the tenacious, loyal, and strong love of family and friends.

Before Laurie moved to Balfour Riverside Assisted Living in October 2023, she made her home in the Highland neighborhood of Denver; both are near Confluence Park, one of her favorite places in Colorado. As her health started to deteriorate more quickly, and after months of intentional discernment and consultation with both loved ones and healthcare professionals, Laurie availed herself of Colorado's Medical Aid in Dying Act on April 12, 2024, surrounded by her sisters and a host of treasured friends. She died peacefully, lifted up by prayers, rituals, songs, laughter, stories and steadfast accompaniment, all shared together in her last weeks, days and moments.

Laurie is preceded in death by her mother, Mary Louise (Peg) Dunne Bretz; her father, John Bretz; and her sister Julie Bretz. She is survived by sisters Amy Bretz of Chicago, Meg Bretz Freeland of Austin, TX, and niece Katie and grandnephew Levi, also of Austin, along with many dear, dear friends.

In remembrance, memorial donations may be made to: HDSA's Rocky Mountain Chapter , or to Denver Health, Medical Aid in Dying Foundation , (when donating, please select 'other' for category of designation, and write in "MAiD Program". Or as Laurie requested, "take a walk in nature and pay close attention to the beauty surrounding us".

Here's a toast to Laurie for the love, courage, humor, hope and dogged self-determination she embodied all her life and for supporting others navigating the HD journey. Let's join Laurie in her fight and pray to one day see a cure!

A memorial service will be held in Denver at a later date.