LAURA ROSE DENNISON (née Koskela) age 76 was born on May 5, 1949 and passed away on January 24, 2026.
With a heart as warm as she had, it’s rather surprising that Laura Dennison was always chilly. We might blame her blankets and bathrobes on her birthplace: Deer River, Minnesota (current population 909), which Laura’s parents, Lauri and Pearl Koskela, wisely left for Cleveland in 1949, when their daughter was still an infant. Ten years later, Pearl and Laura would move into the Shaker Heights home of Pearl’s sister, Irene Knusli, and her family, yet Laura spent much of her childhood on Buckeye Road, getting up to hijinks with her trusty companions, cousins Jim and Joe Ivan. Laura was fond of telling stories from this period, of the tanks and houses the three would build out of appliance boxes from the Moreland Radio and Television store and the tournaments she won as the only female student at the Kadar Fencing Academy, where she took lessons until 1962.
It was her aunt Irene’s little pug Morley that secured Laura’s love of dogs, a passion she’d sustain for the rest of her life, eventually inspiring her to publish The Stray That Rescued Me (2025) of which she was enormously (though quietly) proud. The book’s eponymous stray showed up at its protagonist’s front door, much like Laura’s own beloved Bitsy, the pocket-sized dog she shared with her mother in their retirement. We might also credit Laura’s Shaker Heights years with her interest in teaching, partially stemming from the puppet shows her cousin Hilda would put on for her, as well as her love of dancing, which she discovered in the old movies she’d watch on late-night television while her mother was at work at the hospital. Even decades later, Laura was known to spontaneously burst into numbers from her favorite musical, My Fair Lady, of which, we assure you, she knew all the lyrics. In middle-age, Laura would take ballroom dancing lessons on her own and, although she was too much an early riser to dance all night like Eliza Doolittle, no one would disagree that she spread her wings.
After graduating from Shaker Heights High School in 1967, Laura enrolled at Baldwin Wallace University, but its small size and proximity to home prompted her transfer to Ball State in Muncie, Indiana two years later. This sense of adventure would spur the newly minted elementary education major into teaching third grade for the Department of Defense, which, despite her request to be sent someplace really exotic, gave her a post in West Germany. Ever optimistic, Laura embraced her new life—the expected monotony of the European everyday never quite arriving—for even with the material limitations of an army base (she would later speak wistfully of the box she substituted for a closet), she found ways to socialize and travel. It was in Germany that she met her first husband, Howard Fleeger, and her dear friend, Sarah Russell, whose Sunday night phone calls provided Laura great comfort throughout her life. It was also in Germany that she gave birth to her only daughter, Jennifer, in 1978.
Laura’s letters from her time abroad contain cheerful reports of classroom disasters (she was especially distressed by the pressure of decorating the seasonal bulletin board) and updates on Jennifer’s development, yet underneath these missives lay a longing to return to the States. So, it was no surprise when in 1980, Laura and her little family moved back to Hudson, Ohio, a homecoming that would be short-lived due to Howard’s wanderlust, which led them to Bothell, a growing suburb north of Seattle, in 1983.
Despite her divorce a few years after arriving in the Pacific Northwest and the financial and emotional struggles of single-parenthood, Laura made her Seattle years bright. She and Jennifer would play games during dinner: Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, and a spot of gin rummy. On their infrequent trips to restaurants, Laura would invent dialogue for the diners at adjacent tables, or make a game out of their limited funds. Always an avid reader, Laura would take Jennifer to the library weekly and when she had a bit extra, to the bookstore in the mall, where she didn’t complain when Jennifer chose Babysitter’s Club paperbacks over great works of literature. She benevolently endured the botched pranks droves of girls would attempt at Jennifer’s slumber parties and sat through many interminable youth symphony concerts, although she was not a fan of classical music (unless it was the loud stuff).
Laura had wanted a life as a homemaker, but when that wasn’t to be, she began working for ATL/Phillips in 1986, and in her typical steadfastness, stayed with the company until her retirement. Unsurprisingly, her work ethic was unmatched. On the dark mornings of the rare Seattle snow day, Laura would walk the 2.5 hilly miles so her colleagues wouldn’t have to risk the drive. She took joy from her camaraderie with the service representatives, whose calls about repairing ultrasound machines would quickly turn into funny family stories and mildly irreverent jokes she’d repeat over dinner. Although she always resisted promotion, Laura was widely respected for her patience, competence, and good humor. At Phillips she coordinated lunchtime Bible study meetings and met another of her closest friends, Barbara Sturtz, who together with Laura and a cadre of other dashing women, would host dinner parties to which they’d invite potential suitors, events that surely rivalled the excitement of the church singles’ group.
When her daughter went off to college in 2000, Laura began taking in exchange students from East Asia, such as Lydia Adamski, who called her a “wonderful lady and role model.” Laura’s students often spoke enthusiastically of her energetic sightseeing trips around Washington State, as well as the food she made at home. Laura enjoyed trying out new recipes and delighted in sharing a meal while discussing idioms and cultural practices, among her favorite topics. Indeed, Laura’s love of language only grew as she aged. At the time of her death, she held membership in two writing groups: one at the Mount Vernon Public Library and another at First Baptist Church. This active participation drove her quest to improve her metaphors; she had begun paying careful attention to the descriptions in the books she read, keeping track of how her favorite writers looked and listened to the world. Laura spent her life marveling at the skills of everyone around her—from authors to handymen—unable to see her own abilities for what they were. Yet perhaps she knew that building confidence in others was one of her greatest strengths, for she shared these insights freely with those she loved.
Being so far away from her own mother eventually took a toll on Laura, and she moved back to Ohio in 2013 to live with Pearl in her Richmond Heights home. Upon Laura’s return that summer, Pearl’s demeanor was sparkling. The two women immediately set upon painting the kitchen, and spent the next seven years cooking their meals together and falling asleep in neighboring recliners while watching nightly television mysteries. As wonderful as this was for Pearl, and as much as Laura loved her mother, her transition to retirement could be lonely, an experience eased by her daily coffee with Pearl’s best friend, Rose Montali, a morning event that often stretched late into the day, as well as by cherished visits with her younger cousins, Kris and Kim Cornuelle-Marks, their children, and Caroline Marks, with whom she also loved chatting away on the phone.
A few years after returning to Ohio, Laura found love and companionship in a more permanent way by meeting Gary Dennison. In 2018, Laura and Gary married, and after Pearl’s death in 2020, the two moved to Gary’s hometown of Mount Vernon, Ohio, where they built a house later that year. Laura loved her new home, especially the porch, where she’d sit and read, watching the birds visit the flowers she’d always so carefully cultivated. She was warmly welcomed by Gary’s family, spending many happy years in their company. She also deeply loved her own grandchildren, Irene Klapper and Hugo Fleeger, and particularly enjoyed the trip they took together to Disney World in 2022, despite the long car ride (and many, many podcasts) she endured to get there. Laura spent every morning of her life reading the Bible. Above all, in everything she did, Laura was devoted to God, and wanted to make him proud. There is no doubt she succeeded.
Laura volunteered at Starting Point and was a counselor. She contributed to many animal organizations, especially for dogs. Laura was a very strong Christian lady and attended the Church at Chapel Hill in Bangs where she was a member of the woman’s prayer group.
Laura Rose Dennison died peacefully on January 24, 2026 and is survived by her husband, Gary Dennison; daughter, Jennifer Fleeger; grandchildren Irene Klapper (who loved her to the moon and back) and Hugo; her step-children, Erin (Matthew) Lawson, Chad (Julie) Dennison, Rachel Dennison, and Lindsay (Jon) Curry; step-grandchildren, Owen, Kaylee, Carter, Sawyer, Kinley, Logan, Brynn, Teigan and Leo.
She was preceded in her trip to Heaven by her stepson, Travis Dennison on October 23, 2025.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 7, 2026 – 1:30 PM at the Church at Chapel Hill, 7530 Johnstown Road in Mount Vernon. Services will be conducted by Pastor John Whisner. Everyone who knew Laura are invited to attend.
The Snyder Funeral Homes are assisting the family with arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Laura’s name may be made to the Knox County Humane Society or Starting Point.
To express a condolence to the family, please visit www.snyderfuneralhomes.com
Funeral Home: Snyder Funeral Homes
Website: www.snyderfuneralhomes.com