Purpose:
To serve as a point of connection for Laurie Depies' friends and family. Since she disappeared over 12 years ago, too much remains unknown, unshared, and unresolved. Recent conversations have revealed that many friends and family members may not have had the chance to share their stories and memories with others who were close to her. We hope to create a space where the diverse members of Laurie's life can share memories, document known facts of her life, and show our friends and families the extraordinary qualities Laurie embodied. We can start by creating a means for sharing information in a place that can be easily found. We believe that the internet, a technology not available at the time of Laurie's disappearance, provides a great starting point for our project.

Those of us who knew Laurie live with memories of a remarkable human being. Laurie lives in us. Many of the diverse friends Laurie made have not yet met, and a connecting place online would make room - for those of us who wish to - to share our grief, our wonderful memories, and stories about how Laurie affected our lives. We could, hopefully, negotiate the painful territory of honoring a woman whose being suddenly dissolved, sharing what her absence means to us and how it has affected us. To this moment, each of us has dealt with our own sense of loss in our own ways, some in small groups, some isolated from each other totally. We hope that having the space to engage in exchanging stories, sharing parts of Laurie's life that others may not have shared, will help us keep Laurie present in our lives while providing a possible means of healing for each person participating.

Additionally, a web location may provide a place for us to attempt to make sense of her disappearance. As a living repository of information about her life, we hope that some further notion could be found to the mystery of her whereabouts. The new technology of the Web could, perhaps, stimulate new ways of thinking about her sudden exit from our lives.

We need to remember Laurie, and remember her publicly, to bring her with us into the future. We need to share the good that has come from her being in our lives. We need permission to grieve, heal, remember, laugh, and try to make sense of something senseless.

Where can we begin?

We can begin with a web based project, where everyone can visit and review collected efforts, it can be a sharable starting point.

Why now?

Rekindle - We must revive the awareness of events of Laurie's life and circumstances leading up to Laurie's disappearance before many of the memories become too distant.

Pass the torch - We need to inform younger advocates of this matter. We must be sure that the important facts and events are not forgotten, and to let people know that the impact of Laurie on our lives was both good and strong.