Laurie Ann Pawlowski, age 57, of Grand Rapids, died Wednesday, April 8.

Laurie graduated from Hopkins High School in 1976 as the class salutatorian and was a member of that school’s Class C state runner-up girls’ basketball team. She received an associates of applied sciences degree from Kalamazoo Valley Community College in 1981, with honors, and graduated from Nazareth College, Kalamazoo, with a bachelor’s degree in Management of Health Care Facilities in 1985 magna cum laude.

Laurie worked with commitment for decades in the health care industry, beginning her career as a nationally certified medical assistant. She quickly became proficient in operational roles and worked locally for Traveler’s Insurance and beginning in 1995, at Priority Health where she continued to maintain strong work relationships and valued friendships with many co- workers and peers.

She is remembered as, “Smart, competent, and never one to shy away from a challenge.” Laurie mastered many roles in each organization and became an invaluable resource serving not only the health care companies she represented, but their clients and the larger community

Laurie’s civic interests were varied. She opened her home to many artists during past Art Prize competitions, and was a longtime fan and booster of the New Salem Witches and Corn Maze in Dorr. She gave her time and resources quietly and with conviction to many organizations as a volunteer and donor, and was a life-long lover of animals and animal causes.

But Laurie will be best remembered by her colleagues at Priority Health where she devoted two decades of work. They honored her with these words: “We will miss her wit, her intelligence, her commitment to work and friends. She was one of a kind. ”

She is survived by her parents, Robert J. and Joyce A. (Savely) Pawlowski; her brothers and sister, Robert S. Pawlowski, Stephen W. Pawlowski, Timothy L. Pawlowski, Matthew A Pawlowski, and Rebecca (Donald) Uzarski; nephew, Donald R. Uzarski; niece, Lindsay J. Uzarski; and aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

A private family memorial celebration will be held at a later date. Contributions in memory of Laurie may be made to the Humane Society of West Michigan or Women’s Resource Center of Grand Rapids.