Lauren Marie Reilly

Lauren lived and attended school in Huntington Beach, California. She went to the Carden Academy through Grade 8 where she made lifelong friends and attended HB High School. Lauren was the HBHS Varsity Water Polo team goalkeeper for 4 years and set school records for the number of Saves and Blocking Percentage. She also played in the US Junior Olympics in the Under 16 (U16) and Under 18 (U18) age groups and graduated in 2007 with a 3.98 GPA.

Lauren attended New York University, spending her freshman year at the NYU campus in Florence, Italy. She traveled frequently visiting multiple European countries. With an aptitude for languages, Lauren quickly became fluent in Italian and studied Serbo-Croatian for her independent research project and traveled to Serbia and Kosovo with her Mom.

She returned to NYC and completed her undergraduate degree in 2011, graduating summa cum laude. Lauren then worked for a startup in Manhattan in the product logistics field. During this period, she lived for a time in a loft at 151 Kent St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Lauren later returned to HB and was hired by a Toshiba division which subsequently shut down. Lauren happily used her severance pay to make an extended solo trip to Vietnam, Thailand (scuba certification), Cambodia, Taiwan and Bali (surf camp). One of her fav’s was a restaurant in Hanoi where author Anthony Bourdain and President Obama met for lunch.

In 2018, Lauren enrolled in the Master’s Degree in Accounting program at California State University at Fullerton graduating in 2021. Before starting at CSUF Lauren worked as a hostess in a busy restaurant near the ocean in HB. It was there that she met the love of her life, her husband Angel Leonardo Diaz Smith (Leo). Lauren and Leo were together for eight years after they met in 2017. In 2022, they married in a wonderful ceremony at the Santa Barbara, CA Courthouse. They shared a passion for food, travel, and adventure, going sky diving together, visiting his family in Tijuana, Rosarito, and Mexico City, spending a late honeymoon in Japan, visiting Lauren’s extended family in NY and swimming with the turtles in Hawaii. They went on numerous other trips around her demanding schedule as a Senior Associate at Big 4 accounting firm PwC.

Lauren was an incredibly caring person taking great joy in the family cat Morris who loved to snuggle with her, hugging the family beast (a Great Dane) Loki, and together with Leo adopting an abandoned kitten they named Taco.

Lauren was witty and funny, loving and caring, meticulous and at times anxious and a special person who loved with all her heart. She lived life on her own terms and was the light of her family’s life. Lauren will be missed forever.

Survived By:

Her husband, Angel Leonardo Diaz Smith (Leo).

Her parents, Brian F and Melanie L. Reilly

Her brother, Ian F. Reilly

Preceded by:

Her maternal Grandparents, Fred and Evelyn Arbuckle

Her paternal Grandparents, Eugene (Gene) and Joan Reilly

Memorial Donations:

(donations in lieu of flowers)

The Orange County Food Bank at capoc.org

The Huntington Beach Tree Society at hbtrees.org/donate

A memorial service will be held at Westminster Memorial Park Mortuary - Main Chapel, located at 14801 Beach Blvd, Westminster, CA 92683, on July 29, 2025. Doors open at 2:00 pm, with the service scheduled from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm.

Following the service, a gathering of family and friends will take place at Meadowlark Golf Club, 16782 Graham St, Huntington Beach, CA 92649, from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. All are welcome to come and celebrate. Food and drinks will be provided.