Laurie Antoinette Zamudio-Whalen

Laurie Antoinette Zamudio was born in 1963 in Los Angeles, California, the first child of Fernando and Janice Zamudio. The family grew to five when her sister Sabrina arrived in 1965 and brother Brian followed in 1967. The family moved to Augusta, Georgia for a time while her father was an Army Doctor. After his service completed they returned to California and settled in Pasadena. She attended Mayfield Junior School midway through the sixth grade.

The family relocated to La Jolla in 1974 where she soon enrolled at The Bishop's School. She was an excellent student, especially enjoying the life sciences there. She was a standout member of the cross country team. Her lifelong friends still recall her singing “On the Good Ship Lollipop” at a talent show solo after the other singers chickened out. She worked part time after school at the French Gourmet Bakery with her sister and friends as coworkers.

After graduation from Bishop's, Laurie attended Stanford University, majoring in Human Biology and becoming an active participant in the Delta Gamma sorority. She received her bachelor's degree in Human Bio and also received a master's degree from Stanford's Food Research Institute, focusing on the economy of developing nations. She met future husband Tim Whalen through mutual friends during her fifth year of studies in Palo Alto.

After graduation she put plans to join the Peace Corps on hold and took a position in hospital management with National Medical Enterprises in Santa Monica. Tim followed her to Southern California to attend graduate school at USC and they married in June of 1988 at All Hallows Church in La Jolla. They moved into a house in Pasadena along with her sister that year. Laurie loved animals and soon there were seven cats, three dogs and two parrots in the Pasadena bungalow. She had a big heart

and sometimes rescued strays off the streets, bringing them home and pampering them for the rest of their days. She enjoyed cooking, vegetable and flower gardening, sewing, scrapbooking and planning

parties for her friends and family.

After eight years with NME Laurie took several other positions at smaller healthcare companies and for a while she and Tim relocated to Santa Monica to be closer to their workplaces. Her working life on the westside ended with the birth of Anthony William in May 2004 and they soon returned to Pasadena.

Tony was followed by his sister Madeleine Grace in June 2006 and Laurie's focus turned to her kids. Mommy and Me, Music Together and Suzuki violin lessons kept everybody busy. As they grew up

Laurie was their biggest cheerleader and advocate as an active room mother and volunteer at their Pasadena schools.

Laurie loved to travel and enjoyed many trips near and far with family and friends. She took trips to Greece and China as a teenager, many family trips to Hawaii and Cabo San Lucas, jungle adventures to the Yucatan Peninsula and Costa Rica with her husband, and later trips to Australia/New Zealand with family, to Guatemala with her friend Tanja and most recently to France with a group of lifelong La Jolla friends.

Laurie loved camping with Tim, often spending weekends at Coldbrook Canyon above Azusa and

going further afield to camp in Ojai, Lake Havasu, Joshua Tree and Anzo Borrego Park. Later they would set up tents in the back yard for their young kids and make s'mores over a fire pit.

She is survived by her husband Tim; her son Anthony, a graduating senior studying computer science at the University of San Diego, and daughter Madeleine, a sophomore also at University of San Diego studying biochemistry; her father Dr. Fernando Zamudio of La Jolla, California, her sister Sabrina Smith of Missoula, Montana and brother Brian also of La Jolla.