Laura Jean Chandler (Smith)

Obituary for Laura Jean Chandler (Smith)

A gathering for family and friends will be announced at a later date to celebrate the life of Laura Jean who passed away the afternoon of March 24, 2020 after a very short battle with cancer.

Born in San Diego as the third of eight children of Charles and Marjorie Smith in January of 1957.  Laura was a big fan of beach movies and couldn’t wait for her teenage years when she could dance at parties on the beach just like in the beach movies she loved to watch. She was devastated when the family moved to Cedar Lake Indiana in 1966 but she soon adapted to lake life enjoying her high school years as honor student and cheerleader at Crown Point High School and participating in Job’s Daughters.

Laura attended Indiana State University as an English major and served as captain and “flyer,” on the 1980 NCAA National Cheerleading Championship team. One of the highlights of her college years was cheering during the highest-rated college basketball game ever – Indiana State vs Michigan State during the 1979 basketball tournament.

Upon graduation, she married Geoffrey Chandler in August of 1980 and led the cheer squad for the Pacers Basketball Team for the 1981-82 season. Besides keeping busy with her full time job, she enjoyed swimming with the masters swim team at the IU Natatorium and assisting with wedding photography.

First and foremost, Laura was a dedicated mother to her two children whom she treasured – Myles Geoffrey Chandler, Kansas City Missouri, born May 20, 1991 and Dr Kasey Merrit Ryan, Indianapolis, Indiana, born April 13, 1993. Laura was very involved in all the childrens’ activities and co-coached the Brebeuf Cheer Squad while Kasey was at the school.

She quickly grew to love Kasey’s Dental School classmate, Grant Ryan and took great joy in  planning their beautiful Christmas wedding in what turned out to be Laura’s last big event before her passing.

Laura was known for her sense of humor, infectious laugh and clever wit, always trying to lessen the gravity of a serious situation with a nice witticism. In the hospital when she was learning of her stage-four cancer, she had the nurse write on the whiteboard, “It’s OK to joke.”

She worked at Printing Partners the past 13 years as an inside sales rep, keeping the customers happy and coworkers in line.

Laura is survived by her children Myles and Kasey and seven brothers and sisters and their families, Pamela and Wally Meacham, Chuck and Karen Smith, Ronald and Petra Smith, Christi MacPherson, Steven and Kelly Smith, Judy Moore, Jerry Smith, over 20 nieces and nephews (at last count), and ex-husband, Geoffrey Chandler.

In lieu of flowers, please make memorial contributions to the Alzheimer’s Association, https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=32112&32112.donation=form1 .