Laura B. Vawter, formerly of Oak Park, Ill., and now a longtime resident of Santa Fe, N.M., passed away suddenly and unexpectedly Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, at her home in Rancho Viejo. She was born the daughter of Robert Vawter and Blanche Prevedel of Indianapolis, Ind., on April 13, 1947. Laura was preceded in death by her father, mother, and sister Loretta A. Vawter.
Laura is survived by her spouse, William (Bill) Trujillo, of Santa Fe; son Chadwick Trujillo (Tara Wolf) and grandson Evan Trujillo, of Flagstaff, Ariz.; brother Charles Vawter (Mary Snyder), of Colorado Springs, Colo.; brother-in-law Neil Schwarzwalder, of Bozeman, Mont.; nieces Jill Trujillo (Cami Wedel), of Albuquerque, N.M., Heather Trujillo (David Olkkonen), of Casa Grande, Ariz., Sara Schwarzwalder (David Otto), of Bozeman; and nephews Christopher Trujillo (Jeanette Grieve), of Silver City, N.M., and Paul Schwarzwalder (Jami Shimp) of Bellevue, Wash.
Laura was a graduate of Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., receiving both B.S. and M.S. degrees in environmental design, worked as a kitchen designer in the Chicago area beginning in 1974, then established her own kitchen design business in Oak Park, Ill. She spent about 30 successful years in kitchen design with numerous awards and also worked as a kitchen designer in Santa Fe, N.M., beginning in 1993. Both she and her spouse retired in Santa Fe in 2006.
In Laura’s retirement years, she enjoyed playing weekly Asian mah-jongg and canasta with numerous friends, belonged to a local book club and had about 300 cookbooks to augment her culinary expertise.
Laura will be cremated and a headstone placed in the Trujillo/Gould family burial plots at Hilltop Cemetery in Pagosa Springs, Colo. A celebration of life is slated for March 16, 2024, at Rivera Funeral Home in Santa Fe at 3 p.m.
