Kepins

Laurie Lynn Fredrick Kepins passed away Monday, April 29, 2024.

A tribute from her loving, grieving son, Ryan Kepins.

Laurie was someone who, for the people who knew her, will never be forgotten. The impact that she left on people is second to none. Her nature and kindhearted soul are very hard to find in this cold world. She would become friends with people very easily, and talking to her for the first time, you would have thought that you had known her your entire life. She just felt comfortable wearing her heart on her sleeve, being open to other people and being nonjudgmental. Her ability to make people feel like they were heard and feel important was another way that she was loving and caring.

Another part of her self-coined “happy-go-lucky” attitude was her ability to understand how someone else was feeling and ability to communicate with them and comfort them. There have been many times in my life where I had felt like this was the end, and she would always talk to me and make me feel better and give me hope. The hope that she had in herself to be able to fix our lives after my dad had passed was contagious, despite how hard things had seemed. She always saw the best in the situation. Even though we were both devastated from my dad’s death, Laurie was accepting of her new situation and just decided to continue pushing on. Although things seemed impossible at times, we got through it.

She was my “rock” and always was there for me in my lowest moments. She always would give me hope to continue fighting for what I believed in, giving me the fuel to believe that my dreams were achievable. Her biggest quality, though, was her willingness to sacrifice her happiness to see others happy. She did everything in her power to see me happy and would do everything to make sure I was all right.

She always wanted to see me come home from school with a smile on my face and would do anything she could to make that happen, even if that meant dropping everything she was doing and going out to lunch with me. She would always buy me extravagant gifts, just because she wanted to surprise me, and would always make sure that I would eat, even if it meant she’d go hungry for a while. That type of sacrifice is something that I couldn’t be more appreciative of, and I feel forever indebted to her because of all the selfless acts she performed for me on a daily basis.

Some of the hobbies that she loved doing were hanging out with family and always trying to get together with them. Whether that be going out to see my dad’s side of the family or going out to hang out with her parents for dinner, there was no limit to the things that she did to spend time with the family that loved her so much. She also was a big Hallmark fanatic, especially at Christmastime. She would make a cup of hot cocoa and just relax and watch Hallmark films all day. She embodied what Christmas spirit was and made sure that if she couldn’t watch a movie that it would for sure be taped on our cable box so she could watch it when she’d get home.

Laurie was also very giving and supportive of local animal groups. Before COVID-19, she was part of a group called Helping Paws and would go out with her group to collect money and donations to help dogs without homes and pets in need. The fact she cared about animals that much shows how much of a selfless person she was.

One thing Laurie and I had planned was taking a “vacation away from our stress” by visiting Nemacolin, a resort in southern Pennsylvania. I got it for her as a Christmas gift that was intended to be a getaway from our stress with my dad’s recent death, and our responsibilities. When I told her my plan, since I had saved up just about $3,000 so I could take us there, she was shocked, and she just cried tears of joy because she was so happy to be given such a great gift from me. She was very appreciative of it, and we had planned to go during the summer this year.

To my mom, I was her entire world; everything that she did was for me. She always wanted to make sure I was OK and would do everything in her power to make me happy. She loved me with her whole heart, and the way I felt in the house with her surely reflected that. She was so loving that without her here, I feel empty, like a part of me has gone missing and is never coming back, and I know anyone who has met Laurie is going to feel the same way. She just had that much of an impact on people that now that she’s gone, a piece from all of us is going with her. But just because she’s gone doesn’t mean her legacy is gone, and neither is Mark’s. They are both alive and well and I know they watch down upon me and the entire family, even those of us who didn’t know Mark or Laurie that well. They watch down on all of us just like they raised me as a child.

I couldn't have asked for two better people to have as parents for my upbringing. They were the most kind, thoughtful, understanding, and caring people I think I will ever have the fortune of meeting in my life, and those are the people who are my role models and who I look up to. They made me who I am today, a strong, kind, independent, caring and hardworking individual that I’ve grown into becoming, and without Laurie and Mark at the helm, that just wouldn’t be possible.

No amount of words I could use to describe Laurie would do her proper justice for her life and the impact that she has left on this world. This obituary is just a part of her story. There is so much more to Laurie than this, and I hope everyone realizes that. She was a great mother, daughter, friend, sister, aunt, sister-in law and person to so many people, and her gifts and sacrifices for this world will never be in vain. May she rest in peace. God bless her soul.

Laurie is also survived by her parents, Elmer and Carol Ann Frederick Jr.; and her brother, Kevin W. Frederick. She is also survived by her loving brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles and cousins.

KEPINS — Friends of Laurie Lynn Fredrick Kepins, who died Monday, April 29, 2024, will be received 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at DEVLIN FUNERAL HOME OF CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, 2678 Rochester Road, Cranberry Township. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Mark the Evangelist Parish, St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church, 7076 Franklin Road, Cranberry Township.

Please wear pink to the visitation as an homage to Laurie’s favorite color.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Animal Friends.

Online condolences can be given at www.devlinfuneralhome.com.

Please sign the guest book at www.butlereagle.com.