Laurie Martha King

She joined the love of her life, William R. King, Jr, 19 years later to the day, in eternal rest.

Laurie was active in local and regional theatre, improv, and independent film. At the end of her bio in each one of her playbills was the quote, “Life is a canvas and I’m throwing as much paint on it as I can.” It was with this ethos that she lived her life.

She was born December 3, 1944 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to parents Jack and Kathleen (Brousseau) Boekhoff eventually settling in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, MN. Laurie graduated from Our Lady of Peace High School in St. Paul, MN. It was on her way to and from school where she would pass the repair and filling station where Bill was working. After a short and passionate courtship, the two were married and began a family, initially residing in Saint Paul, and then eventually Forest Lake where they raised five loved children. Her home was filled with music. If she wasn’t playing a tune on the piano or harp, she was singing or humming a tune by Elvis Presley, Carole King, Simon & Garfunkel, or The Beatles.

Her home was also filled with love, compassion, and kindness. Never would an unkind word toward race, gender, creed, or orientation be tolerated. While raising five children, she gradually earned her RN degree. She worked overnights at the University of Minnesota oncology floor, allowing her to spread her compassion and kindness to those who needed her while still allowing her to effectively raise her children and act in local theatre.

After launching her five children into the world, she became much more active in the arts. She acted in many roles from chorus to leads. She had a flare for the dramatic in her daily life and on the stage it was magnified. She always said her favorite role was that of the acerbic yet soft-hearted Ouiser Boudreaux in Steel Magnolias. She said she didn’t even have to act and would say, “If you want to get to know me, watch Ouiser.”

She also had a passion to do more for those in need. To achieve this, she obtained a nurse practitioner degree from the University of Minnesota in her 40s. She always wanted a more personal role in the medical model. This degree enabled her to perform missions in Africa and spend months at a time taking care of the Indigenous people in northern Minnesota and New Mexico, all while balancing the roles of loving wife, mother, and doting grandmother.

She loved all things Minnesotan: First Avenue, the Guthrie, Lake Winnibigoshish, the Gophers, the North Stars. She and Bill attended Vikings Super Bowls and followed the Wild religiously. If the phone rang during a North Star game, she would always say, “Who on earth wouldn’t be watching this right now?”

Even as her memory faded, her expressive personality shone through. She would approach each interaction with a smile and bright eyes. At the end, she communicated through music. She would hum the verses and harmonize the chorus with Elvis, “I can’t help falling in love with you.”

She is survived by four of her five children : Thomas (Vickie), Daniel (Melissa), Timothy (Laura) and Jensen (Alysson), her sister Ann (Bob) Boekhoff , aunt Jacqueline Johnson, and first cousins Roger Johnson and Kathi Rifkin. Carrying on her legacy of kindness and generosity are her 10 grandchildren: Nicholas, Joseph, Cameryn, Ashlyn, Adam, Keenen, Alayna, Andrew, Owen, and Ava.

Preceding her in death are her husband Bill, daughter Julie, parents Jack and Kathleen, brother John, and sister Janet.

Services will be held Friday, May 29 at the Wulff Funeral Home at 2195 Woodlane Dr.,

Woodbury, Minnesota. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 AM followed by services at 11 AM. Interment will be at Union Cemetery, Maplewood at 12:30 PM.

The family would like to acknowledge and thank the caregivers at Emerald Crest Memory Care Burnsville and the ICU nursing staff at M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your local arts community .