Laura Christine (Peterson) Roman

Laura passed away on August 12, 2018 at the age of 54. Loving wife to Brian Roman and incomparable mother to Joseph Roman. Precious daughter to Margaret Peterson and the late Marvin Peterson. Courageous sister of Karen (Christopher) Thielman and Amy Peterson. Devoted friend and family member to countless others.

Laura was born on November 22, 1963 and her arrival brought joy on a day of national sorrow. She would continue to fill the world with laughter and had a smile that could light up every room she entered. A cherished daughter and sister, favorite family memories include trips to Florida and epic power shopping trips, which typically ended in a lively camp song sing-a-long on the drive home.

Laura attained her BS in Psychology from Illinois Wesleyan and her MS in School Psychology from Illinois State University. Lifelong friendships formed during her college years, and included her best friend who would later become her husband.

Her devotion to children ultimately led to a career as a school psychologist in the Wheaton school district, and she received glowing reviews from colleagues, administrators and parents. When Laura left the district her friends created WWLD (What Would Laura Do?) bracelets, as a reminder of her ability to find solutions to almost any problem.

In 2000 Laura married Brian, and they began their life together, creating a home in Chicago and then Oak Park and expanding their large circle of friends. Their family became complete in 2006 when they traveled to Kazakhstan and adopted the love of their lives: Joseph. As Laura said, while Joseph was not born in her belly, he was born in her heart.

In 2010 Laura was diagnosed with brain and spinal cord cancer. During her long battle, Laura was an inspiration to all who knew her. You may have seen her in her wheelchair around Oak Park, since Brian made sure she participated fully in family events, from Joseph’s ball games to charity races. We marveled at Laura’s courage and fortitude, but she also had a wickedly acerbic sense of humor, a joyful laugh, and an attention to detail. She was a lover of patty melts, angel food cake, the Beatles and Eric Clapton, and she adored her menagerie of dogs and cats, who kept watch over her.

The greatest loves of her life though were Joseph and Brian. They were a true team, Team Roman, who reminded all of us that in spite of hardships “Life is Good.”

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to National Brain Tumor Society (https://secure2.convio.net/bts/site/Donation2?df_id=3940&3940.donation=f...), J127 Ranch Kazakhstan (https://j127ranch.org), or Shriners Hospitals for Children (https://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/chicago/ways-to-give).