Laura Marie Bentley, 69, of Calgary, passed away peacefully on May 20, 2025, after a long struggle with Lewy Body Dementia. Laura was born on August 20, 1955, to Audrey and Murray Veno in Sudbury, Ontario. She was the second of six children and was raised in Coniston, Ontario surrounded by a large and loving extended family. After obtaining her Phys-Ed degree at Laurentian University in 1979, Laura moved to Edmonton, Alberta and worked in various technical roles for AGT and Alberta Power. She also taught tennis and downhill skiing.
In the spring of 1984, Laura met her husband Stuart in Edmonton, Alberta and they were married on June 22, 1985. Always looking for the next opportunity for adventure, Laura suggested that they move to Yellowknife in 1989, where they started their family with the birth of their two daughters in 1990 and 1993. In the fall of 1993 they moved to Sudbury, Ontario to live near Laura’s family, and they welcomed their son, who was born there in 1995. In 1996 the family found their wanderlust leading them to Red Deer, Alberta where they lived until the summer of 2001, when they moved to Calgary to finally put down permanent roots.
A lifelong student who was always thirsty for knowledge, Laura took many courses over the years, some which led to career changes such as massage therapy and esthetics, and many that were for pleasure such as painting, cooking, acting, and classical guitar. Laura enjoyed playing her clarinet with Westwinds Orchestra in Calgary and acting on stage with community theatre companies in almost every city she lived in. While she was a skilled actor, she eventually found that her real passion in theatre came from directing, which she had the opportunity to do as a member of Central Alberta Theatre in Red Deer, and Workshop Theatre in Calgary.
Laura loved to travel, and while going on cruises was one of her favourite ways to travel; tropical beach vacations and ski trips to the mountains were also very high on the list. She was always planning and dreaming of where they might be able to travel next.
Laura was predeceased by her father, Murray Veno. She is survived by her husband, Stuart; her children, Jessica (Joseph), Angela and Harrison; her siblings Brenda, Susan, Loreen, Murray (Barb), and Donna (Mort); her mother Audrey; and several loving nieces and nephews.
A special thank you goes out to the caring nurses and staff of the Brenda Strafford Foundation’s Clifton House, who took such wonderful care of Laura in her final years, and who showed such kindness and compassion to the family during Laura’s last days.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation https://www.michaeljfox.org/give-tribute which funds research aimed at improving the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia, including research on biomarkers and other methods for detecting LBD earlier in its progression.
A Celebration of Life will take place at 2 pm Wednesday the 18th of June at Evan J. Strong Funeral Home, 3625 12 St NE, with a reception to follow.
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