Laura Kissinger

Laura Allen Preston Kissinger, born September 30, 1918, passed away this 8th day of February 2005, at her home in Bel Air.

She was the daughter of William Edgar Preston, Sr. and Cecelia Estelle Harward of Fulford, Maryland. Laura, along with her sister Lois Harward Preston Stier (deceased) and brother William Edgar Preston, Jr., grew up at Green Gables in Fulford. Their mother died when Laura was five years old, and their father, with the help of close relatives, raised the children. Their father managed the tomato cannery in Hickory. Maternal grandparents William David Harward and Laura Jeffery ran the General Store in Fulford, and watched the children during the day.

Laura graduated from the West Baltimore General Hospital School of Nursing on May 25, 1940. She received her registered nursing certificate from The Maryland State Board of Examiners of Nurses on April 25, 1941, and began her nursing career at Lutheran Hospital in Baltimore. A couple of years later on a sultry summer evening she attended a dance aboard a naval ship docked in the Philadelphia harbor. There she met and fell in love with a handsome navy CWO named Irvin Henry Kissinger (deceased), and they married shortly thereafter. After a brief three-year period in San Diego they traded their California home for another family’s home in Bel Air, and moved back to raise their children, William (Bill) Irvin Kissinger and Lois Kissinger Kelly. Bill is married to Deborah Caroline and they reside in Monkton, MD, Lois is married to William S. Kelly and they reside in Bel Air, MD.

Her nephew, Douglas (Doug) James Bazemore came to share the household during his high school years and learned to tow the line demanded by his loving Aunt Laura. Doug is married to Mary Ann and resides in Churchville, MD. In addition, many of her children’s classmates “bunked” at her home, enjoying meals or having their sports uniforms washed, especially during football and wrestling season. Dinnertime was spent gathered around the kitchen table eating sumptuous meals and sharing the day’s events. Many meals ended with a tale being told that had all bent over from laughter with tears streaming down their faces.

During the school years of 1964 and 1965 Laura was the Bel Air High School nurse. She loved this position and cherished the friendships she developed with the students and faculty.

There was always a song on her lips, cards or a book in her hands, a smile on her face, and a sparkle in her eyes. She loved the competition and intellectual pursuit of winning her hand at contract bridge while participating in tournaments. She was named an American Contract Bridge League Golden Age Master and received a certificate in recognition of her participation in the activities of the American Contract Bridge League. She had an insatiable appetite for learning and was an avid reader.

She loved national and local football, closely following the Baltimore Colts and Bel Air High School’s games where Bill was one of their “shining stars.” Her other interests and talents included gardening, flower arranging, history, current events, telling a fun joke, sharing recipes, or passing along a plant or a recently read book. As Eileen Frey, one of her closest friends, put it, “she had an immeasurable sense of fellowship, thriving on this fellowship not only with family and friends, but also in the community at large, participating in the Quaker Meeting or in local politics or by providing comfort to a neighbor or friend in need.” And, any animal that was lucky enough to become a member of the family lived a very privileged life.

Laura was an excellent cook. Hands down, no one will be able to match her culinary expertise. Just the mention of her repertoire of soups, her signature hot milk cake with dark chocolate icing, the sweet and sour flavors of her lemon-lyric, or her three-layered coconut cake with the freshly shredded coconut would make you drool from desire. Not to be forgotten were the canned vegetables, pickles and rhubarb pies all lovingly prepared after being grown by her husband in the most precisely well-manicured and attended rows.

Laura beamed with pride when speaking about her grandchildren. In her eyes they will remain the most intelligent, beautiful, perfect children that will ever grace this earth. Her granddaughters Audra Hollingsworth Kelly and Margaret (Maggi) Laura Kissinger Hooven and grandson Edward (Ned) William Henry Kissinger shared many an adventurous day learning and viewing the world through their grandmother’s eyes. Audra is married to David O. Porter and resides in Washington, DC, Maggi is married to John R. Hooven and resides in Elkridge, MD, and Ned to married to Margo Lyn and resides in Fallston, MD. This past month Laura became a great grandmother to Ned and his wife Margo’s daughter, Madelyn Margo Kissinger.

She will be sorely missed, but those who loved her will be speaking her name often and remembering her in stories for generations to come.

Friends and relatives are invited to attend a remembrance celebration held at Little Falls Friends Meeting on 719 Old Fallston Road in Fallston on February 11th at 10:30 a.m. Immediately following will be a luncheon in the School House next door to the Meeting.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Baltimore-Harford County, 4-C North Avenue, Suite 422, Bel Air, MD 21014 or Harford Friends School (scheduled to open this September), PO Box 208, Darlington, MD 21034.