Laura Anne Shaffer Lorek, 37, of New Bern, N.C., formerly of Valencia, passed away peacefully Nov. 5 at her home with her family by her side after a courageous battle with cancer.

Laura was a 1997 Mars High School graduate, where she was a member of the marching and concert bands. She was also a proud 2003 doctoral graduate of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Pittsburgh. She was secretary of the Lambda Kappa Sigma sorority.

In 2004, she and her husband, Mark Lorek, moved to the New Bern area, where she was employed as a pharmacist for CVS. Laura cared deeply for her family and her patients and leaves behind a legacy of love and devotion as a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend.

She loved quilting, reading and volunteering at the Mercy Clinic and at St. Paul Catholic Church and School in New Bern, but what she enjoyed most was spending time with her husband and children.

Laura is survived by her husband of 14 years, Mark E. Lorek; her children, Noah Edwin, 6, and Savannah Patrice, 3; her parents, Chester J. Shaffer III and Mary Patrice Morsek Shaffer of Valencia; her sister, Helen (Donald) Ward of Gibsonia; her brother, Chet Shaffer IV of Pittsburgh; and her grandmother, Mercedes Morsek of Crestview, Fla. She also is survived by five nieces and nephews and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

LOREK — Laura Anne Shaffer Lorek, who died Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, was laid to rest at St. Joseph Cemetery in New Bern, N.C.Memorials may be made in Laura's name to St. Paul Catholic School, 3007 Country Club Road, New Bern, NC 28562, or online at www.stpaulcs.org.