Laurine Carmen Campbell

Laurine Carmen Campbell was born in Walla Walla on Nov. 6, 1924, to Louis and Frances Faro, the second of 11 children who survived to adulthood.
Laurine grew up on a farm near College Place and attended St. Patrick’s School. The family lost the farm due to damage from a flood during the Great Depression.
After graduating from St. Patrick’s School, Laurine entered the Army Nursing Corps and was trained as a registered nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Walla Walla. Upon graduation, her first nursing job was in the St. Mary’s maternity ward in September 1945. According to Laurine, the ward was experiencing about two births per day at that time. When she left St. Mary’s 18 months later, the number of
births had grown to 12 per day and she was the head nurse. She chose to work for the Veterans Administration because the nurses there had 40-hour work weeks, 10 percent hours per week less than St. Mary’s
Hospital. While working at the VA, she met Walter Campbell, a patient there. In 1952 they married and moved to Seattle, where Walter studied mechanical engineering at the University of Washington, while
Laurine worked at the VA hospital in Seattle. Her two daughters, Jo Ann and Mary, were born in Seattle. To have a better chance at promotions, Walter and Laurine volunteered to be transferred, moving to Minot, N.D. Then when they specified they would accept transfers anywhere west of the Mississippi River, they were transferred to the VA hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, which overlooks the Mississippi River. Their son, Bruce, was born there in 1960. Next, they transferred to Cleveland, Ohio, followed by Madison, Wis., and Fort Harrison, Mont., (outside Helena).
Walter died of a heart attack in 1971 and Laurine became a single mother. She transferred to the Walla Walla VA, where she worked until her retirement.
Laurine was active and elected to leadership positions in the American Nursing Association, the Girl Scouts of America, the St. Patrick’s Altar Society and Catholic Daughters of America. She was also an advanced first aid Instructor for the Red Cross. She also worked on the Royal Star of Washington Quilt for Washington State’s Centennial exhibit.
Laurine used and enjoyed gadgets and machinery.She sewed baby quilts for Catholic Charities on her quilting machine, and she owned a series of five home computers, starting with a Commodore 128 and ending with a custom-made, quad core Windows 7 machine.
Laurine’s greatest satisfaction was helping others and she felt great regret as her physical and mental decline removed those opportunities from her life.
Laurine died at Willow Springs Care Center on Dec. 19, 2015, at the age of 91 with family at her side. She is survived by her daughters, Jo Ann French (Lee) of Prescott Valley, Ariz., and Mary Randall (Nolan)of Redding, Calif.; her son, Bruce Campbell of Tualatin, Ore.; four grandsons, Michael, Kurt, Bryan and Mark; and four Granddaughters, Carmen, Adrian, Elizabeth and Laura; nine great-grandchildren.
A Rosary will be said for Laurine at Herring Funeral Home at 6:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25. The Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, 2016, at St. Patrick’s Parish in Walla Walla followed by a graveside service at Mountain View Cemetery and then a meal at Blanchet Hall. We are sure Laurine would appreciate contributions made in memory to the Celiac Support Association or www.
gofundme.com/buck$forbrad, a fundraiser for a nephew recently paralyzed in a farming accident.