Laura Jean Syhlman-Annal

May 25, 1964 - March 16, 2009

Laura Jean Syhlman-Annal Obituary Our beautiful daughter, sister, mother, aunt, and wife passed away suddenly on March 16, 2009. A memorial service will be held at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 28th at 3:00 PM, A potluck supper and fellowship at the home of Laura's brother Brian and Patty Syhlman, 3314 West Holyoke, will follow. Memorial contributions may be made to a guardianship account education fund for her daughter Jerushah Thomas at Inland Northwest Bank. Laura was active and competent in many areas. She was a wonderful cook and expert seamstress. She loved animals, particularly horses and horseback riding. She was also an excellent marksman, enthusiastic sailor and camper. She loved swimming, hiking, fishing, gardening and plants in general. Laura was an excellent poet who wrote eloquently due to her empathy with others and ability to feel and express their feelings. She was also a vocalist with an angelic voice that lifted the spirits of everyone in the house whenever she sang as she worked in the house. Not only athletic and active, she was intellectually bright and curious. Laura graduated from Tacoma's Ashmead College with a 4.0 GPA in 1999, and maintained her successful business, Life Touch Massage Therapy, here in Spokane since 2001. Never content to remain stationary, she began her second career by entering SFCC in 2003 and graduating summa cum laude with a B.S.N. from WSU in December 2007. She became a Registered Nurse on her first NCLEP attempt in February 2008. Laura's heart was big enough to love and care for everyone in her life and she will be sorely missed by many. She had a special passion for children; pediatric nursing was her calling. She fulfilled her need to help kids by providing care for medically fragile children in their homes. Despite her physical and intellectual accomplishments, Laura's crowning achievement is definitely parenting her two children: Her son, Stephen A. Thomas, has entered into SFCC and the Army National Guard with the goal of entering the ROTC program and obtaining an Active Duty Commission in the United States Army. Her Daughter, Jerushah J. Thomas, is attending Ferris High School where she is in multiple AP classes. Her grades, scholastic standing and various test scores have colleges seeking her out for admission. Jerushah is also a dedicated and accomplished ballerina. In her immediate family, Laura is survived by her husband, John P. Annal, Jr., her children Stephen and Jerushah, mother, Virginia Lee also known as Ginger Hood, brothers Tim Sturm, Brian and Shawn Syhlman , sister Melinda Geiger, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Billy D. Syhlman.