Coping with Grief
We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. Enter your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. Messages run for up to one year and you can stop at any time. Your email will not be used for any other purpose.
Laurel Fennie passed away peacefully at home on November 21 st ,
2020 under home hospice care. She died of heart and lung disease.
Laurel Leigh Fennie was born on December 6 th , 1934 in Kirk,
Colorado; she was the daughter of Paul and Irene Morris. She
graduated from Yuma High School in 1952. Laurel was an
accomplished pianist and organist. She began lessons when she was
6 and began playing for church when she was 11 years old.
Disciplined and committed to music, Laurel practiced many hours a
day. Paul, her father, would drive Laurel to Denver twice a month to
take piano lessons. She played the organ and piano for church,
countless weddings, funerals and plays.
Laurel, a music major, graduated from Colorado Women’s College in
1954 and then went onto the University of Nebraska. While at
Nebraska, her school spirit shined. Belonging to the Tassles, the girls
spirit club, they decorated every home game with the card section.
As a music major she was the accompanist for Joe Feeney, the
legendary tenor from the Lawrence Welk Show, the Lincoln Men’s
Chorus and the University Singers. The Christmas concerts gave her
the opportunity to accompany the choirs with her favorite piece, The
Hallelujah Chorus by Handel. Laurel enjoyed playing music of her
favorite composers, Bach and Chopin. Music Composition was her
absolute favorite class because she could “hear all the parts.” Laurel
graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1956….GO BIG RED!
Laurel and Kent Fennie were married in 1957 and were blessed with
two children, Keli and Kristopher. In 1965, Laurel began her 32 year
teaching career with Yuma Public Schools. She taught music and art
for 19 years, travelling to Red Willow and Eckley. Ready for a new
challenge, Laurel pursued her Master’s Degree as a Media Specialist
and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 1988.
She served as the Yuma School District Librarian for 13 years where
she automated all the libraries in the school.
Laurel loved accompanying in musicals. Indeed, her strength and
skill was in accompaniment, able to improvise in a moment when a
singer inadvertently switched lines. She was a fixture in the
orchestra of the Yuma Areans productions, playing in The Unsinkable
Molly Brown, The Sound of Music, Annie, and many other musicals.
An avid golfer, she began playing when the Yuma Golf Course first
opened and continued to swing that club until last year, at the age of
84. Laurel volunteered at the Yuma Community Cupboard, including
serving on the board; she derived great pleasure from this work,
especially the boutique. Laurel also served on the Yuma Public
Library Board for many years. A lifelong member of the Yuma United
Methodist Church, Laurel loved her church family. She enjoyed
travelling, gardening, and quilting. Laurel was a dedicated fan of the
Nebraska Cornhuskers, Denver Broncos, and Yuma Indians. Her
beloved Cornhuskers were playing when she passed. It is unclear if
she passed in order to avoid seeing them lose the game.
In 2018, Laurel embarked on searching for her biological parents.
With persistence and help from friends, she was able to discover her
birth family. Two of her siblings were still alive, and the families
connected. There was a family reunion in 2019 in Idaho, where over
30 family members met. She and her brother Byron were the
honored guests in the town parade and won the first place trophy
for their float, Lost and Found Reunion.
Laurel had a rich life, surrounded by family and friends who loved
her. She was kind, fun, and gifted. She was preceded in death by
her parents Paul and Irene Morris, sister Sharon Spellman and birth
sister Micki Kilker. Laurel is survived by her two children Keli An and
Kelly Frates, Kristopher Fennie and Anthony DePalma, two
grandchildren Kaci Frates and Kip Frates, her birth brother and wife
Byron and Myra Lewis, special friend Debi Pearson and a host of
family and friends.
Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, a celebration of life is planned for a
later date when the epidemic subsides. In lieu of flowers, gifts may
be made to Hospice of the Plains or the Yuma Public Library.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Laurel Leigh (Morris) Fennie, please visit our floral store.