Laura Elizabeth Sundgaard (Sullivan) died in a tragic accident at her home May 5th,
2024. She was born July 26th , 1963, in Virginia Beach, VA to William and Lillian Sullivan.
Her father was a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, and her mother was the best blue crab
picker in all of Florida. ‘Bud’ and ‘Nell’ were originally from Clearwater, FL and moved to
Merritt Island, FL in 1965.
Laura graduated from Merritt Island High School in 1981 and was a proud, lifelong
Mustang. She earned two associate’s degrees, one from Brevard Community College in
Cocoa, FL and one from Florida Junior College in Jacksonville, FL in Dental Hygiene.
She worked as a Hygienist at several practices in the Merritt Island area for a number of
years before meeting the love of her life, Greg Sundgaard, a Coast Guard helicopter
pilot, on June 27th , 1991, at the ABC Bar and Liquor Store in Merritt Island when Greg
was out with friends before crashing a wedding the next day and Laura was out with her
high school reunion committee following a planning meeting that day. She hated that
they met in a bar and would often tell people they met at church until eventually coming
clean. God’s hand was definitely in their meeting – Greg had never been to the area
before and Laura hadn’t been to that establishment in many years. Theirs was a
whirlwind romance and their relationship progressed quickly. They were engaged within
a year at Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday in New Orleans in 1992 and were married March
20th , 1993, in Merritt Island.
Greg was in receipt of orders to Kodiak, AK at the time and the couple moved there
shortly after the wedding. Their time in Kodiak was marked with time spent in the
outdoors, making lifelong friendships and welcoming the arrival of their first child, Griffin,
on Coast Guard Day, August 4th , 1995. Following Kodiak, they were stationed in Mobile,
AL which saw their next two children born, their daughter, Leah, on November 5th , 1997,
and another son, Cade, on December 5th , 2000. From there, they were stationed in
Elizabeth City, NC, Eureka, CA, Petaluma, CA, Alameda, CA and finally in Colorado
Springs, CO prior to Greg’s retirement from active duty in 2013. Laura loved the Coast
Guard and all the close friendships she developed at each of their duty stations. Every
chance the family had to live in government housing, they accepted enthusiastically
because it meant they were able to live in close proximity to their dearest friends. God
further blessed their family with a move to their dream home on Lake Neely Henry
outside of Ohatchee, AL in 2021.
Laura worked as a Dental Hygienist for 35 years before retiring in 2021. She was
passionate about her patients and loved educating them and helping them maintain not
only their dental health, but their overall health. Laura was a bargain hunter – she
absolutely loved finding good deals on just about everything. Her fingerprints could be
found on scores of items throughout Alabama but her absolute favorite place to shop
was the Bargain Bin in Anniston which she introduced many of her friends to. She would
return home with her treasures and beam with pride over the ‘savings’ she realized from
her purchases.
Laura loved her family and her friends with a depth that was remarkable. She was an
unstoppable force of nature – she had an almost gravitational pull to her that attracted
anyone that came within her orbit. She coupled her love for others with a gift for
planning. She was constantly planning for the next opportunity to make memories with
family or with one of the many friend networks that revolved around her.
Laura loved to put together special experiences for her guests – her nickname among
her friends was ‘Fancy’ because she was incredibly adept at making everything look
beautiful. She was an amazing cook and loved creating special meals for friends and
family. She was a firm believer that making things look nice and investing her time in
every detail made her guests feel special.
Laura loved the Lord with all her heart and was born again as a teenager. She helped
bring Greg to the Lord as an adult and encouraged their children to seek Him – Greg,
Griffin and Leah were baptized together in 2010 and Cade was baptized a year later in
large measure due to her inspiration. There’s no doubt she’s been welcomed into
heaven and sits on her heavenly throne alongside her Mom and Dad, her brother Pat
and all the many aunts and uncles she grew up with and loved so dearly.
Laura was described by people that knew her as hard working, caring, genuine, humble
and as a good listener. She was highly intelligent and had a razor-sharp wit. She was
gifted with a fantastic sense of humor – she lit up every room she came into with her
easy laugh and ever-present smile.
Laura and Greg held firmly to a ‘no quid pro quo’ relationship – they served each other
as a couple because they wanted to and never kept a tally of who did what for who nor
expected anything in return. They believed in ‘no looking back’ – once a decision was
made, they pressed ahead and looked only forward. Lastly, they believed that ‘there’s
no wrong turn on an adventure’ – no matter what happened in their relationship, they
adjusted to the challenge, learned from it, and their marriage was strengthened as a
result. Laura and Greg were each other’s best friends and loved one another completely
– passionately, fiercely, deeply, faults and all – and their affection for each other was
apparent to everyone that knew them.
Laura was a special soul – her irrepressible spirit was responsible for bringing people
together and making them feel special. She is survived by her loving husband Greg
and their three children: Griffin, Leah and Cade. She will be missed terribly until they are
all reunited in heaven.
