Laurie Ann Luster, age 58 years, of Ringoes, NJ, died suddenly on Friday, February 28, 2020 at Hunterdon Medical Center, Raritan Township, NJ.

Born at Hunterdon Medical Center on July 11, 1961, Laurie loved to make a joke about her birthday of 7-11, reminding everyone they had no excuse to forget her birthday gift! A daughter of Frank W. Luster, Sr. and the late Ann Louise Schneider Luster, she was a lifelong area resident.

Graduating from Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ in 1979, Laurie would go on the earn her Associates Degree from Broward County Community College in Florida. She would continue her education and earn her Paramedic license and would earn her National Registry Certificate, becoming a licensed Paramedic in Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. She worked for various agencies and hospitals over the years and was loved by her colleagues and patients alike.

Emergency medicine was more than a passion for Laurie: it was her ministry. Perhaps it was her life-threatening illness as an infant, where her life was saved by the loving angels at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, or perhaps her caring and compassionate heart followed the example of her older siblings as they volunteered with the Amwell Valley Rescue Squad when they were growing up. Whatever it was, at the age of 14 years old Laurie proudly joined the squad to help her neighbors and community. She did it simply because she cared.

As she grew in emergency services, she became a New Jersey Emergency Medical Technician. Realizing this calling was in reality her future career, lead her to become a Paramedic. Loving the field so much also led Laurie to become a teacher; she taught many classes from Phlebotomy to CPR, and she even taught ACLS at Rutgers University Medical School.

One of the hallmarks of emergency services is that when someone calls, there is always someone there. Laurie was the person who was always there for her family and friends. She made it known that she was just a call away for any situation, any time of the day or night. Instinctive and always learning, she loved to help take care of everyone and her lively spirit helped make even the toughest times just a bit easier. This vibrant and jovial personality was one of the many things that made Laurie stand out and be appreciated by others. Her big heart was as bright as some of her flamboyant clothes.

Laurie was currently the Vice-President and Deputy Chief of Quakertown Volunteer Emergency Medical Services.

American author Albert Pike once wrote,“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” Laurie’s selflessness will never be forgotten and the world is surely a better place because she lived for others, following her heart in all that she did.

Surviving are her father, Frank W. Luster, Sr.; her siblings and their spouses, Frank W. Luster, Jr., Jeffrey Luster, Alice Luster, Ernie and Joanne Bracco Luster, and Robin and Darren Okunlola; her loving companion of more than ten years, Ken Weinberg; ten nieces and nephews; ten great nieces and nephews; several extended family members; and many friends.

Laurie will lie in repose on Saturday, March 7, 2020 from 11:00 a.m.to 2:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ 08822.

An EMS walk through and honors, followed by a life celebration service, will follow the visitation beginning at 2:00 p.m. and to which all are welcome. For all departments sending apparatus and personnel, please email the funeral home for staging instructions by clicking HERE.

Following the services, all are invited to join the family for a reception in Laurie’s honor at the Amwell Valley Fire Co., 22 County Road 579, Ringoes, NJ 08551.

Committal prayers followed by cremation at the Chapel of Ewing Crematory, Ewing Township, NJ, are private under the direct supervision and direction of the Wright & Ford Licensed Care Team Family.

Please visit Laurie’s permanent memorial site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a memorial candle, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

Memorial contributions in Laurie’s honor may be made to the Quakertown United Methodist Church, 1187 Croton Road, Quakertown, NJ 08868.

_____________________________

Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”