Liberty Molly Laubinger

Liberty Molly Laubinger was born on June 16, 1987, a couple of weeks later than expected, in Salem, VA, and was excitedly welcomed by her overjoyed parents, Polly and Lars Laubinger. Liberty’s sudden and peaceful, but quite unexpected, death occurred in Raleigh, NC, on August 23, 2024.

Liberty is survived by Polly Laubinger, her mother; by Lars and Ginny Laubinger, her dad and stepmother; and by Daisy, their sweet pup, who enthusiastically loved Liberty in a way only adoring animals can. Breeze Foster, Liberty’s half-sister, also survives her, as does Breeze’s husband Dan, their children Micah, Isaac, Opal, Calvin, and Zinnia, as well as their daughter Autumn Topf, husband Corbin, and daughter Hallie.

Liberty is also survived by her very special additional family, Lauren and Tierria Brown and daughter Adri, in whose AFL (Assisted Family Living) home Liberty resided and enjoyed many fun times there and on outings from 2020 until her untimely death. A fun fact is that Lauren and Liberty especially enjoyed sharing pizza topped with black olives and mushrooms.

Liberty’s name generally had a little heart instead of a dot placed over the “i,” even on her many birthday cakes from Ben & Jerry’s. Her perfect first name itself came from the Walking Liberty half dollar, minted only from 1916 to 1947 and widely considered to be America’s most beautiful silver coin. Molly, which was Liberty’s middle name, was suggested by Breeze.

Liberty attended preschool in Gretna, Virginia, before relocating to Raleigh with her mom in 1990 and finishing preschool/kindergarten. She then enrolled in the Wake County Public Schools, was blessed and cared for and encouraged by so many superlative teachers and staff and graduated in 2010.

Liberty was predeceased by her beloved Granny and Pappy, Mary and Jack Finan, her maternal grandparents who lived next door in Raleigh, and by her precious Uncle Tim Finan, as well as other special relatives. Liberty’s nickname of “Doodle Bug” came from Granny, as did an appreciation for a multitude of different green vegetables deliciously prepared. Liberty’s bus driver and monitor were grateful beneficiaries of cupcakes baked by Granny when she met Liberty’s bus on school days.

Liberty is also survived by Dianne Finan, her aunt and Tim’s wife, and by cousins Matthew, Patrick, and Patrick’s wife, Jessica. Other survivors include Jeanne Finan, also Liberty’s aunt; husband Tom Eshelman; and their families, including daughter Benares Angeley and children Penny and Silas and son Jody-Taj Eamonn and children Cedar, Orien, and Truth.

Other beloved survivors include two stepbrothers and a stepsister and their families: Stephen Webb, wife Michelle, and son Lane; Jared Webb, wife Lindsay, and children Tenah and Michael; and Emily Olsen, husband Chad, and children Eva and Benjamin. Liberty is also survived by her uncles and aunts Robert and Peggy Ireson, Robert and Susan Stewart, and Skip and Mary Lou Laubinger, together with their families.

Liberty was blessed to have so many loving relatives and friends with whom she enjoyed spending time, sometimes on holidays and other festive occasions. Liberty had such a zest for life and a boundless excitement for new and old experiences. Though Liberty had disabilities, including physical challenges and being mostly non-verbal, she readily communicated with gestures and noises, including some words, easily worked jigsaw puzzles, and was a spark of light in her interactions with others.

Liberty enjoyed times when at the home of her dad and stepmom in VA, whether she was being served a Dr. Pepper at a favorite antique store, was pushing carts or otherwise surveying the offerings at Aldi or Sam’s Club, was eating lots of hush puppies at a favorite restaurant, was riding in her wagon being pulled alongside a beautiful riverside trail, was exploring a flea market, or was just savoring favorite meals planned by her dad.

As soon as she completed high school and up until her death, Liberty was an enthusiastic volunteer with Flower Shuttle in Raleigh. Her assigned task was assembling business cards into plastic picks for placement into the flower arrangements made each week by Polly and other volunteers and distributed to such places as rehab, senior citizen, and cancer care centers, brightening the lives of persons who might not generally get flowers or who just needed a lift. Liberty was a champion worker!

Anyone thinking of Liberty will smile as they remember how much she liked having a list to carry of her activities for that day; that she had an amazing, unique, and memorable laugh (beware, Kamala Harris); that she sported a “best dressed” wardrobe from her multi-hued glasses frames to her colorful pajamas to matching outfits to cozy jackets to fun socks to foot braces (the newest ones adorned with assorted cats); that as an indisputable Southern Belle, Liberty savored grits for breakfast and drank many, many, many cups of sweet tea (and sometimes even blasphemous unsweet tea); that she had a great affinity for going to the NC State Fair and would point out the Dorton Arena even when riding by the Fairgrounds; and that she always rode in her car seat, happily surveying her surroundings while holding and reading her treasured list for the day.

Liberty, always accompanied by Polly, also cooperated well during her hospitalizations and during appointments with her various medical professionals, including her beloved dentist, Dr. Don Kindrachuk and his staff (no cavities ever!); was the subject of countless songs, including several silly ones plus one celebrating her birth, all with words written by Polly and sung over and over and over again; and was just an angel on earth with an ideal extra touch of bossiness! Liberty’s abilities, despite her disabilities, impressed a former treasured co-worker, now deceased, of Polly’s, to remark and say, “That Liberty ain’t no slow leak.” What a wonderful way to be described!

The hole created by Liberty’s absence will never be filled nor the grief assuaged. But Liberty was a precious child of God who had been voted unanimously by the Deacons into membership at Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh. Upon her death, she was no doubt quickly enveloped into the welcoming arms of her beloved Granny and her precious Uncle Tim.

Please remember Liberty Molly Laubinger always with smiles and joy and maybe even dancing. She dwells forevermore in God’s presence. When someone as loved as Liberty becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure never to be forgotten. Shakespeare described Liberty when he wrote, “Though she be but little, she is fierce.”

A service will be held to celebrate Liberty's life in the chapel at Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, October 5, 2024, at 1:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hayes Barton Baptist Church, Missions Fund, 1800 Glenwood Ave. Raleigh, NC 27608.

Service arrangements provided by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home & Crematory, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh, NC.