Lauri Daniels, age 67, passed away on November 23, 2023, at her home in Winter, WI after a brief illness.

She was born on February 8, 1956 in Rochester, MN, the daughter of John and Genevieve Stern.

Lauri graduated from Lourdes High School in Rochester but ended up marrying a Lutheran boy in spite of this. She worked at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for over 30 years, starting by running an ancient elevator in the old Plummer Building, then supervising several desks over the years, and finally working on Mayo’s Electronic Medical Records project.

She married Todd Daniels in June 1979 in Rochester. They spent the next 27 years fixing up an old prairie farmhouse and its outbuildings, planting trees and making walking paths throughout the property, and building several ponds which became the basis for their private fish hatchery business, all while working at Mayo. Lauri felt weekends, holidays, vacations, and time after work were meant for doing big projects. She did make time for friends, gardening, helping others, campfires, bird feeding, reading, and working with stained glass.

After two bouts of cancer, she decided ponds are great but they’re not a lake, so they moved to Winter, WI and lived there for thirteen years. She most enjoyed sitting morning and evening, looking at the lake and woods and critters, talking quietly about everything and anything…and about big projects to be started immediately. She became prettier and prettier every year.

She is survived by her husband, Todd of Winter; her beloved cat and dog; her brothers-in-law, Scott (Frankie) Daniels of Orrville, OH; Joel (Vicki) Daniels of Hillsboro, OR; Bruce (Theresa) Daniels of Rochester, MN; and dear friends.

A Celebration of Life will be planned for summer.

Special thanks to special friends who comforted her, and to Regional Hospice staff and volunteers who made it possible for her to live and die in her own home next to her family.

Last Update: Nov 30, 2023 1:44 pm CST