Great-grandmother, outspoken political volunteer, lifelong Dodgers fan

Born Laura Marie Friedmann on March 7, 1932, Laura Vezzetti died February 11, 2024 after a brief series of illnesses. She was in her 92^nd year.

Laura was a beloved and proud mother, grandmother, and “grandma the great” to her great-grandchildren, whom she particularly adored. She was a respected colleague and valued friend.

She enjoyed a 50-year marriage to Albert Vezzetti, who died in 2018.

Born and raised in New Jersey, she lived most of her life in California. Primary residences included several decades in Claremont, where her four children each graduated from Claremont High School, and Santa Rosa, where she and Albert spent their final years.

She was quite proud of her long professional career, and entertained others with her stories of being a working woman in the 1950s and beyond. With a knack for numbers and organization, she worked in financial related positions and particularly enjoyed the decades before her retirement when she earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Cal Poly Pomona while working as an accountant with a property management and investment company.

She was an outspoken woman who engaged in various social and political causes. She was active with the local chapters of the ACLU and served as a delegate for the California Democratic Party in the early 1990s.

She was a woman of great spiritual faith who attended and volunteered at the Pomona Valley Church of Religious Science, where she became a licensed religious science practitioner. She would go on to serve others through the World Ministry of Prayer and volunteered as a practitioner while running the junior church program at the New Visions Center for Spiritual Living, Inland Empire.

She was an avid reader, particularly of nonfiction, and enjoyed painting landscapes. “She truly appreciated Avon products, which she believed responsible for her lovely skin,” her family shared. “In her early retirement years, she visited with many neighbors, working as an Avon lady. Laura enjoyed beauty in various forms, always wearing jewelry and lipstick, she generated compliments and awe when announcing that she personally made all her beautiful clothing.”

She was an enthusiastic lover of baseball, having attended historically significant games in New York as a young child. She always rooted for the Dodgers, having been a fan of the team since their days in Brooklyn.

“Vibrant and sharp until her recent illness, Laura loved flowers, building rose gardens in every home she owned,” her family said. “Visitors to Laura’s house would always see fresh garden bouquets displayed and be offered two of her popular home-made cookies. “Laura expressed opposition to having a funeral, yet she was agreeable to folks gathering for a ‘Champagne toast,’ as sparkling wine was a favorite of hers.”

Her family will be celebrating her life and legacy in a small private event. Her friends are encouraged to host additional gatherings to share their stories and celebrate an impactful life.