Laurie Schiff Hahn died peacefully on June 27th, 2020, in Denver, Colorado, at the age of 76.  She had been diagnosed with cancer a decade earlier, but lived an active and engaged life up until her last few months; even then she maintained her sense of humor.

Laurie grew up in New Rochelle, New York, where she attended Daniel Webster elementary school, Albert Leonard Jr. High School, and New Rochelle High School (class of 1962). As a teenager, Laurie's summers were spent at Camp Hurley in Rhinebeck, New York, where she developed many close friends with whom she stayed in close contact for many years. 

Laurie moved from New York to the Midwest, where she graduated from the University of Wisconsin. Returning to New York she met Alan J. Hahn, a quiet balance to Laurie’s outgoing nature. After marrying in 1969 the couple lived in Ithaca, NY, where Alan was on the faculty of Cornell University and Laurie developed and maintained an active weaving studio.

Laurie and Alan remained in Ithaca until 1996, where they developed a close circle of friends with whom they spent large amounts of time traveling, hiking, listening to folk music, taking and sharing photos of the natural world, and sharing wonderful meals, as Laurie was a great cook. Laurie was always the life of the party, no matter the location—from her living room, to Six-mile Creek in Ithaca, to the high peaks of the Adirondacks and beyond. During this time Laurie and Alan also enjoyed numerous sabbaticals in locations including Las Cruces, NM; Eugene, OR; and Charlotte, North Carolina, in all places taking numerous hikes and making more life-long friends.

After retirement, Laurie and Alan left Ithaca permanently and traveled around the country in their camper-van. Their travels were interspersed with taking care of family. In later years they settled in Colorado, first in Grand Junction and then in Denver, where Laurie remained for the rest of her life, choosing to stay after Alan died in 2011. There she remained the "force of nature" that she always had been, putting her heart into maintaining important relationships in her life while continuing to weave and to photograph birds, other wildlife, and flowers. Her exquisite photos, reflecting the peace and joy that she found in nature, were featured in her annual calendars and holiday cards.  Laurie's deep appreciation for color, texture, and pattern was a major inspiration in her life’s work -- both in her nature photography and her vibrant weaving designs.

Laurie was also very generous, always ready to help friends and acquaintances in need, a characteristic that extended to her support—with both finances and time--of political candidates who put the well-being of people front and center.

Laurie was pre-deceased not only by Alan but by her parents, Mimi and Jack Schiff, and her brother, Paul Schiff.  She will be greatly missed by friends and family.

We look forward to sharing many memories and photos of Laurie with you here. To add some words of your own, click on "leave a tribute," below. To add photos, with captions if you like, click on "add photos" to the upper right.

Information for this commemorative was contributed by several of Laurie's friends.