Posted by Donna Bell | 25-Aug-2022
Barbara and Deanne, my deepest condolences on the passing of your sister. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers
Dr. Laura Wiebe
11-Jan-1976 - 16-Aug-2022
Posted by Chris and Aya Myhr | 25-Aug-2022
Your friendship will be dearly missed Laura, and our deepest condolences to your family and Adam. Thank you for helping us find a home for Shizu. When we were about to give up last summer, you encouraged us to keep trying, and this led to the happiest of endings for her. Your kindness and love for the critters we share the world with was unbounded. We have made a donation to the Neveah's Charity of West Lincoln Cat Rescue in your memory. These were the generous people that cared for Shizu, and found her a forever home. Thank you Laura.
Posted by Jackie Langille | 23-Aug-2022
My deepest sympathy to Laura's family and friends; her passing is a terrible and tragic loss. I will always remember her keen mind and encouraging laughter at team trivia pub nights.
Posted by Grace Kehler | 21-Aug-2022
Laura made visible, palpable, the beauty of paradox: she combined intense acumen and conviction with an exquisite, gentle practice of care. Thanks, Laura, for your last "lecture." It's the best reminder: be kind.
Posted by Antoinette Somo | 21-Aug-2022
Laura I always remember your smile and your kind and gentle ways. Your smile will live in my heart. May you rest in peace.
Posted by PhebeAnn Wolframe-Smith | 21-Aug-2022
Laura was a true and wonderful friend and I am devastated at her passing.
I met Laura at McMaster University in 2007 when she was in her first year of her PhD and I was starting my masters degree. She was so smart and well spoken that I remember feeling intimidated by her initially. However that feeling quickly gave way once I started to get to know Laura and her kindness, humility, and great sense of humour. Some of our earliest conversations were about science fiction, one of Laura‘s many passions, and a shared one. Laura had an infectious enthusiasm about the things she was most interested in. She even got me to appreciate basketball and getting me to appreciate any organized sport is a feat!
I was immensely fortunate to have had Laura as one of my closest friends during the years that I lived in Hamilton. We laughed together, danced together, talked about music and books, shared vegan meals together, watched terrible horror movies, and went on reluctant sleepy early morning walks to get coffee together. When we left Hamilton in 2012, leaving Laura behind was a true down side, but we stayed in each other’s lives as much as we could.
Laura and Adam travelled to Thunder Bay for our wedding in 2017 and then my spouse and I chose to spend our honeymoon with them in Hamilton afterwards. There is no place I would have rather had a honeymoon than with some of our most beloved and most missed friends.
Laura, I wish I could send you a text or hop on a call. I am crushed you are gone and still can’t quite believe it.
Much love to Laura‘s family and all her loved ones.
Posted by Anne Savage | 20-Aug-2022
I was lucky to be chosen by Laura as her PhD thesis supervisor, participating in the development of her ideas about conceptions of science in popular culture speculative fiction genres, a rich vein of thought with many entry points to her creative thinking. Laura was effortlessly intellectual, grappling cheerfully with tightly-knotted complexities. Her focus on paranormal romance, a subgenre of speculative fiction as a new perspective on science, was one of those wide swings into the weird and unpredictable I loved her for - a brilliant thesis. She kindly primed me for teaching the big SF elective course she’d taken on, saving me a certain amount of dismay when I, a medievalist, was assigned to teach it.
My profound sympathy to her friends and family in this great loss.
Posted by Maigen O'Brien | 20-Aug-2022
My deepest sympathy goes out to Laura's family.....
She was a dear friend and we spent many a night either at the jam hall or the club or traveling to play a show.....I was her official mic roadie and did my job well for her.
We meet at the coffee shop between the two highschools we attended (me Eastwood, her rockway)
Goodnight Empress of cat 😺
Posted by Anthony Kinik | 19-Aug-2022
I met Laura back in September of 2015 when I started teaching at Brock University in the department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film. We both held Limited Term Appointments at the time, so we were teaching a lot, and we were constantly on campus.
Laura was so smart and talented--an excellent teacher who earned a tremendous amount of respect from both students and teaching assistants alike, and a great colleague.
She was also a dedicated radio DJ, as I had been in an earlier era.
We bonded over teaching, popular culture, music, radio, and cats.
We stayed in touch for a couple of years after she left CPCF, especially when I lived in Hamilton for a brief period of time. We'd meet for coffee from time to time and catch up, and I ran into her at the Farmers' Market a couple of times, including once when she was there with her mother. We drifted out of contact after I moved back to St. Catharines, and especially when the pandemic set in. I really regret that.
Laura was an incredibly kind and thoughtful person.
I send my condolences to her family, friends, and loved ones.
Posted by Kevin O’Brien | 19-Aug-2022
I’ve known Laura, through my wife Steph and my sister-in-law Melissa for the last 15 years. I always loved a chance to get to talk to Laura about music. A couple of summers ago, we all stayed at the same cottage, during the NBA Playoffs. Laura and I sat inside, while everyone else was outside, and watched the Raptors pull off a last minute buzzer-beater win. I always remember us both jumping up and screaming so loud that Steph came in and said “what happened?!??” It was a highlight of the summer, and I’m glad I got to share that moment with her. The next time the Raps hit a game-winner, I’ll be thinking about Laura.