Laurie’s Story

Why ‘Don’t Ask Just Do’ is So important to Me…Us

I’m definitely not a person that has ever asked for a lot of help. Stubbornly, I like to be in control of my own destiny, often overloading myself with work, kids, sports and house projects. Then when tragedy hit, I realized there are certain things I can’t control. Things so much bigger than me.

My name is Laurie Englert. I live a very full life, raising two amazing kids, Maddison and Max. In general, we are a pretty average family but have definitely lived through what I consider a life altering moment. My husband, who was a very talented interior designer and an even more incredible father committed suicide when my kids were just eight and four years old. So in the blink of an eye, life changed not just for me but in a bigger way for my kids. Marriage is truly a partnership for everything, even the small and all too time consuming tasks like getting the kids to school, mowing the lawn, and oh my word fixing stuff around the house. I’m lucky I can pound a nail in straight. When that partnership suddenly ends, life can become very chaotic… very quickly. l am so grateful to the friends, family and once strangers that didn’t just call and ask if I needed anything, they stopped what they were doing and picked up the pieces of my life and helped me put them back together- one by one. They didn’t ask. They just did. Here are a few of the stories that touched me the most and I continue to inspire me to help others.