Laurie Mitchell Loudenslager

Laurie Mitchell Loudenslager, 66, passed away at her home on November 21, 2023.

Laurie was born in Corvallis, Oregon on December 21, 1956 and grew up in Tennessee and California. She graduated from John Muir Alternative School in San Diego in 1975. She moved to Ketchum, Idaho in 1979 while working as children’s caretaker and found the place she would call home for the remainder of her life. Here she met Frederick (Fritz) Loudenslager, who she would marry and have a daughter with in 1988. They shared an active life enjoying the mountains hiking, skiing, bike riding, sailing, and paddling their canoe.

After arriving in Ketchum, Laurie worked at the Elkhorn General Store. She may have built your bicycle wheels at Fritz's Bicycle Shop or built your hydronic manifolds.

Laurie first learned to ski after moving to Idaho. She was passionate about the sport and found her 24 years working as a children’s ski instructor at Sun Valley to be truly rewarding. She was also a coach for the Hailey Ski Team.

She was a voracious reader. Her first job was working in the library at her junior high school, and she loved working part time at the Community Library. 

Laurie was kindhearted and gentle. She enjoyed feeding hummingbirds and growing raspberries in her backyard. She never met a cat she didn’t like. 

Laurie was preceded in death by her parents, Kenneth and Nancy Mitchell; her brother, David Mitchell; and her nephew, Joey Hatch. She is survived by her husband, Fritz; her daughter, Aimee; her siblings, John Mitchell, Anne Mitchell, and Julie Hatch; six nieces and nephews; and nine great nieces and nephews. 

A celebration of life will be held in the spring.