Lauren M. Horst

Lauren was born on October 23, 1962 at home at "The Annex White Cottage" in Kennett Suffolk, England. Her parents were Jackie and Leo Daly. Lauren was raised in Stoughton Massachusetts, Frankfurt Germany, Key Biscayne Florida and San Diego California. She was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve her well throughout her life.

Growing up in the Daly household was a bit different from a typical one. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Lauren was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and she was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Lauren was raised with two siblings, Kenneth and Jonathan.

As a young child, Lauren was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. Lauren developed a variety of interests, and those things she enjoyed doing she did well. She was always curious about the world around her and often explored it through her love of books and became a consummate lifelong book worm. She learned to play the piano, make various crafts and had fun with her neighborhood friends. Lauren also became fluent in German at the age of 6, learning the language in less than three weeks.

While her teachers and even her friends generally thought of Lauren as being a serious person, she managed to have a pretty good time in high school as she made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. She graduated from Mira Mesa High School, San Diego, California in 1980. She enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. Her favorite class in high school was English Literature. From age sixteen, Lauren worked various jobs such as babysitting, a commercial laundromat and the restaurant/bakery industry. Lauren was a very logical person who excelled at making rational decisions in the midst of irrational situations. She seemed to have a natural born talent of being able to tell people what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.

Lauren started college at San Diego State University in the fall of 1980, with the goal of becoming a nurse, to follow in her grandmother's footsteps. College was interrupted by the serious illness of her beloved grandfather in Massachusetts. She unhesitatingly left San Diego to move back east and become a full time caretaker.

Throughout her life, she was committed to her friends and valued the trust she placed in them. It was not uncommon for friends to frequently seek her out for advice because she had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to almost any type of dilemma. Growing up, some of her best friends were Karen Whitcomb, Carol Benson, Loren and Karen Howard. Later in life, she became close friends with Di Calvert, June and Maurice Dickens, all from England, her sister-in-law Sandi Lane in Las Vegas, and Ellen Commack.

On October 5, 1985 Lauren exchanged wedding vows with Stephen Horst at the Base Chapel at NAS Miramar in San Diego, California. She took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it her total commitment for more than twenty five years.

Lauren was blessed with two children, Christopher and Matthew. Lauren brought her own special “traditional values” to bear on how she raised her children. She was always firm yet fair in her dealings with them. She would always listen carefully and thought things through before she acted. Lauren always seemed to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. (Even if she was late for the occasional movie)

Throughout her life, she was employed by several food establishments, including the one where she met her husband. In her primary occupation as a restaurant manager, Lauren greatly enjoyed what she did for a living. She was an exceptionally hard worker who expected nothing less than the same in return from her co-workers. Lauren enjoyed creating programs at work that organized the ordering, inventory and display of product. Her selfless attitude earned Lauren many accolades.

Lauren liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into her hobbies, where she was very methodical in how she organized her activities and categorized her crafts. Lauren always managed to make room in her life for hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were polymer clay working, making decorative wreaths and decorative egg design. She enjoyed being a member of a local clay guild. Lauren was never more content than when sitting at her hobby desk, cutting, molding, gluing, drilling and creating her latest masterpiece. Each Christmas and Easter saw family members that were spread all over the country waiting for this year’s creation.

Lauren enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since she was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Lauren appeared effortless. Plus, no matter where she traveled, Lauren always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Some of her favorite vacations included repeated trips to Vail Colorado; various spots around England; Niagara Falls; Disneyland; Sea World (to swim with Flipper!); and her 25th wedding anniversary cruise along Mexico.

Lauren was a lifelong friend of all animals and truly loved every one her pets. Some of the notable favorites were Triscuit the Yorkiepoo as well as a long line of cats: Hobbes, Kitty, Tittles and Dervish just to name a few.

Lauren M. Horst passed away on February 2, 2011 at Las Vegas, Nevada Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital. After fighting an eleven year long battle against cancer, Lauren succumbed to complications related to pneumonia.

She is survived by husband Stephen, sons Christopher and Matthew, parents Jackie and Leo Daly, brothers Kenneth and Jonathan, and a herd of cats. Services were held at Palm Mortuary, Las Vegas, Nevada. Lauren will be laid to rest in Veterans Memorial Park Cemetery, Boulder City Nevada.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Lauren M. Horst. She was committed to living the life of a good woman who was both practical and trustworthy. She committed herself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around her. Most of all, she was committed to those she knew and loved.

Arrangements under the direction of Palm Summerlin-Funeral Home, Las Vegas, NV.