Lauren Kay Rosenthal, age 29, of Kalamazoo, Michigan passed away on Friday, April 30, 2021. Lauren was born on June 17, 1991 in Lansing. Lauren’s passion for justice and strong desire to advocate for those marginalized in society led her to earn her Juris Doctor from Stetson College of Law and to return to her alma mater, Kalamazoo College, where she had obtained a degree in psychology, to become the Director of the Office of Gender Equity and Title IX Coordinator in July of 2020. She enjoyed articulately discussing issues relating to social justice and how to be more accepting and welcoming to all. While working mostly on behalf of younger people, she had many older friends and always found time for her favorite TV show, “The Golden Girls”. Her hobbies included drawing, calligraphy, reading voraciously, playing her violin, and trying new recipes in the kitchen. A friend to many, she will be greatly missed and never forgotten.
Lauren was educated in the Okemos public schools, graduating from the high school in 2009, where she had played basketball, volleyball and soccer. She was a member of the school’s orchestras, the National Honor Society and may be the only alumnus to make first chair of second violins and score double figures in a basketball game. She received the Presidential Scholarship, Student Leadership award and the Xarifa Greenquist Memorial Psychology Department Award as a student at Kalamazoo while playing on the women’s basketball team and in the community orchestra. She received the Certificate of Concentration in Social Justice Advocacy, the Judge John M. Scheb Excellence in Appellate award and the Pride award at Stetson. In furtherance of her career in service to others, Lauren worked for the 8th District Court Young Adult Diversion Court in Kalamazoo, AmeriCorps VISTA, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Residential Opportunities Inc. as a direct care professional, interned at Gulfcoast Legal Services and served as a teaching assistant for several of her instructors.
Lauren is survived by her parents, Jeffrey Rosenthal and Kay Carroll; sister, Rachel (Luke) Wisniewski; maternal grandparents, Dorian and Shirley Carroll; paternal step-grandmother, Judith Rosenthal; numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family, and her two cats Sonny and Tobi. She was preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Richard Rosenthal and Ursula Striebel; uncle, Brad Lockwood; and “Aunt” Gail Striebel.
Visitation for Lauren will be held Thursday, May 6th, 4-8 PM at the Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home, 1730 East Grand River Avenue, East Lansing. Due to Covid-19, there is a limit of 25 visitors in the room at any given time.
A celebration of Lauren’s life will be held on Friday, May 7th at 11 AM, officiated by Pastor Matthew Smith of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Lansing and held at the Williamston Free Methodist Church, 4400 N. Williamston Rd. in Williamston. A meal will be served afterwards. Lauren’s burial will be held at 2 PM at East Lawn Memory Gardens, 2400 Bennett Rd. in Okemos following the meal. A funeral procession will not occur and social distancing protocols will be in place at all times. Thank you to Pastor Matt and Williamston Free Methodist for your assistance in these difficult times.
Donations in behalf of Lauren’s memory may be made to Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries https://www.kzoogospel.org/ or NAMI Michigan https://namimi.org/
“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.” — Dr. Seuss
A livestream of the service can be viewed at http://facebook.com/laurenkay.rosenthal
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