Col. Laura J. Bredemeier, Army Nurse Corps, ret., 88, of Petaluma, CA, died peacefully on Thursday, December 8, 2022, at Windsong of Sonoma (senior living). She was born on January 7, 1934, in Marion County, Kansas, graduated from Marion High school in 1951, Wesley Hospital School of Nursing in Wichita in 1954 and later finished her B.S. degree at Drury College in Springfield, MO in 1972. After ten years of civilian nursing, she joined the Army Nurse Corps and served on the front lines in the Vietnam war. She was a highly decorated soldier during her 28 years of service, including the coveted Meritorious Service Award and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm. Her many postings included Tripler, Letterman, and Fitzsimmons Army Medical Centers and in Teheran, Iran in 1976 - 78 as operating room supervisor. Her last two positions were as Chief Nurse at Ft. Ord in Monterey, CA and finally back to Letterman in San Francisco and her later retirement in 1990.
Laura's love of sports was evident as a young counsellor and nurse at Brown Ledge Camp in Vermont where she also taught pyramid and slalom skiing. In addition, she was an accomplished snow skier and instructor at Sun Valley, Idaho and often frequented the slopes in Colorado and Lake Tahoe. In Iran she was a champion slow pitcher in the mixed softball league. One of Laura's Marion friends, recently described her as "almost larger than life". Laura's Petaluma friend, remarked, "that's a good description of her. Laura swallowed life whole and her infectious smile filled you up and made you believe in your best self. She was a deeply spiritual person who meditated for 35 years,and tried to uphold the formative values of her Kansas heritage. It has been my honor and privilege to know and love her. She was my best teacher." Laura was a church member of Unity of Marin in Novato, CA and was an enthusiastic attendee of various 12 step meetings for over 42 years. In her later years her main hobby was acrylic painting and lately she had developed a nice, natural singing voice. Laura is survived by her nephews, her great nephews, and her great niece as well as a companion. She was preceded in death by her parents, Herb and Clara Bredemeier, and her brother and sister-in-law, Dick and Evelyn Bredemeier. Graveside memorial services with military honors will be held on Saturday May 27, 2023 at 11 a.m. at Marion Cemetery.