Lauren Jean Thomas

Lauren Jean Thomas, 58, of East Lansing, Michigan, died peacefully in her home in August 2015. She was born September 9, 1956, in Milwaukee Wisconsin, the second of four daughters of William Allen and Evelyn Crais Thomas.

During the course of her lifetime, Laurie worked as a community minister, disability rights activist, educator, counselor, facilitator, author, and consultant. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Southern Illinois University in 1978 and her Master of Divinity from McCormick Seminary in 1981. Laurie was ordained as a community minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church in 2005 and inspired many with frequent sermons at area churches - enlightening, humorous pieces often revealing how disability can inform faith and works.

The disability rights movement and religious community became passions that shaped Laurie's life. She served as a peer counselor and disability advocate for Michigan Centers for Independent Living, United Cerebral Palsy, and other disability rights organizations. She also authored two books: Perspectives on Disability and Proud Voices: a Short History of the Disability Rights Movement in Michigan, the latter of which drew from hours of oral history recorded by Laurie, now archived at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Laurie will be remembered for her gentle but wry sense of humor, welcoming openness to new friends, and dedication to accessibility and inclusion for all. Laurie's experiences, including her disability, shaped who she was, sometimes limiting, but not controlling what she could do. She transformed her experiences into leadership by example, becoming a model for inclusion and breaking barriers both physical and social, acting from and fostering empathy, compassion, and practical change.

Laurie will be deeply missed by many friends from her religious and disability communities. She is survived by her sisters Cindy, Gayle and Anne, brother-in-law Daniel, and niece Hannah. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her beloved niece, Emma.

Her Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, September 12, at 2:00 pm, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing, 855 Grove Street, East Lansing. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Laurie's memory to the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, http://www.mymdrc.org/support-mdrc.

Friends may visit the guest book at www.tiffanyfuneralhome.com. Arrangements by Tiffany Funeral Home.