Laura Schmersahl
Laura Mae Schmersahl of Dubois, IL departed this life in the Silver Cross Hospital in New Lennox, IL on Monday, September 23, 2019 at 6:51 P.M. due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. She had attained the age of 55 years, 2 months and 9 days.
Laura was born in East St. Louis, IL on July 14, 1964 the daughter of Forrest and Mary Lou nee Newbern Caswell. She grew up attending the Elkton Union Church in Elkton, IL and from an early age she loved Jesus with all her heart.
Laura attended Nashville Community High School and later received her nursing degree from Kaskaskia College in 1984. She went back to school and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville in 2012. In 2018 Laura completed her Master’s Degree in Nursing with a Nurse Practitioner Concentration from Maryville University in St. Louis. She was currently working as a nurse practitioner in the greater Chicago area. She had previously worked as an emergency room nurse at the Washington County Hospital in Nashville, IL and before that worked as a nurse for Dr. Ralph Kelly at the Family Medical Center in Nashville. Laura was a very caring soul and loved helping those in need.
From early childhood, Laura showed a great appreciation and talent for music. As a little girl, she participated in the music programs at Elkton Union Church where her singing talent first came to light. She carried that love of music throughout her life by singing at wedding and funerals and being active with the choir’s at the St. Mary Catholic Church in Mt. Vernon, IL where she attended, and at the St. Charles Catholic Church in Dubois, IL. She was also an accomplished pianist and organist. Laura also loved going out to listen to live music performances as well.
Left to mourn her passing are her parents, Forrest and Mary Lou Caswell of Elkton; two sons, Christopher Schmersahl and wife Melissa and their children, Faye and James of Decatur, IL and Nathaniel Schmersahl of Nashville, IL; her fiancé, Kendrick Vaughn of Bourbonnais, IL; a brother, Russell Caswell and wife Gina of St. Charles, MO; two sisters, Jayne Caswell of Springfield, IL and Lisa Birdwell and husband Jerry of Cotton Town, TN; nieces and nephews as well as a host of friends.
She was preceded in death by a brother, Daniel Forrest Caswell and her grandparents.
Funeral services will be held from the Campagna Funeral Home in Okawville, IL on Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 11 A.M. with Rev. Rick Caswell officiating. Interment will be in the Elkton Cemetery in Elkton, IL.
Friends may call at the Campagna Funeral Home in Okawville on Friday from 5 P.M. until 8 P.M. and again on Saturday from 8 A.M. until the service hour.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the National Arthritis Research Foundation or to the Lupus Research Alliance and will be accepted by the Campagna Funeral Home.
Online expressions of sympathy may be made at www.campagnafuneralhomes.com
