Lifelong “Cosi Kid” Sandy Lauritzen passed away on September 29, 2025 in Seattle after recurrence of a cardiac condition. She was 83.

Sandy was born in San Mateo, California, to parents Dorothy Dean (Kidd) and David Wellington Jackson. Soon after Sandy’s sister Barb came along, Dorothy moved back to Cosmopolis with her girls. She married Jack McCullough Smith, and together they raised eight children. Sandy always proudly called herself a Smith.

While attending college in California, Sandy and her friends stopped at a bar one night after a basketball game and were joined at the table by one of the team’s star players, Larry Lauritzen. The two hit it off and were inseparable until 2018, when he passed away. They were married for 52 years. After college, Sandy taught first graders before Larry was drafted into the army. They were posted to Germany, where their daughter Pam was born.

After leaving the Army, Sandy and Larry returned to California, where their daughter Nancy was born. A job opportunity for Larry brought them back to Grays Harbor, where they were joined by their third daughter, Jane. Sandy was a stay-at-home mom until all three girls were in school.

As a reference librarian at the Aberdeen branch of Timberland Regional Library, Sandy helped countless library patrons locate the information they needed for more than 20 years. During her tenure, she created a local history archive that is still housed at the branch today.

After her retirement, Sandy enjoyed traveling with family and friends, and devoted herself to her garden, which flourished under the care of her incredible green thumb. She was also a voracious reader and could be found with her nose in a book during many a quiet moment.

In 2019, Sandy suffered a serious cardiac event called Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, and ended up in Seattle for treatment and recovery. She moved into the Ballard Landmark senior living community, and quickly established a circle of friends who enjoyed everything from exercise classes to shopping and eating out around the neighborhood. She served on the resident council, and welcomed new residents to the building with her signature charm.

Pandemic lockdown was incredibly isolating, and Sandy suffered several medical emergencies before making the decision to move in with her daughter, Pam. There, she developed a love of painting rocks, and produced thousands of tiny artworks that she shared throughout the neighborhood and sent to family and friends across the country.

Sandy had just moved back to the Harbor into Channel Point Village when she suffered another Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy and returned to Seattle for palliative care before she passed away.

She loved her family and friends so deeply, and made new friends easily. Sandy never met a stranger, even coming out of hospital stays knowing the life stories of her nurses and caregivers. Her ability to find common ground and connection with just about anyone was inspirational to her friends and family alike.

Sandy was preceded in death by her husband Larry Lauritzen, parents Dorothy (Kidd) Jackson Smith, David and Shirley Jackson, and Jack Smith, sister Barbara (Ron) Lehman, and brother Paul “Kip” Smith.

Sandy will be remembered with love by her sisters Sally Sangder and Sue Ferguson, her brothers Bob (Karla) Smith, Bill (Juanita) Smith, and Tim (Laurie) Smith, daughters Pam, Nancy (Jerry) Schreck, and Jane (Jim), her four grandchildren, Britney (Sean) O’Donnell, Riley (Lyndsay) Schreck, Anika Vojir, and Zoe (Caley) Moon, her great-grandson Bennett O’Donnell, along with the members of her vast extended family.

All are welcome to join the Lauritzens, family, and friends for a celebration of Sandy’s life on Nov. 8, 2025 at 1:00 pm at the Cosmopolis Lions Club. Memorial donations in Sandy’s honor can be made to Timberland Regional Library and the American Heart Association.