Tom Lauritsen

Springfield, VT – Charles Thomas Lauritsen, 78, died unexpectedly on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. Tom was born on August 31, 1948, in Santa Monica, CA and grew up with five siblings in a blended family.

Tom was a loving husband, father and grandfather, a master carpenter and builder, a politician and environmentalist, and a resolute pacifist.

From a young age, he was a fearless adventurer and athlete, excelling at track and field at U.C. Davis and having a lifelong love for Yosemite and the High Sierras as an avid climber and mountaineer. His unflinching curiosity about the world led him to travel extensively, including a six-month spiritual quest to India by way of Paris, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan. He studied engineering and political science at UC Davis and volunteered as a camp counselor for the YMCA.

In the 1970s, Tom moved from Modesto, CA to Vermont with his first wife Neomi after attending a dear friend’s wedding in the area. They would raise three children in Perkinsville, VT. For many years, Tom served the Weathersfield community on the Selectboard, the Zoning board, and the Connecticut River Watershed Advisory Commission. Tom was also elected to serve in the Vermont State House as representative for Weathersfield & Cavendish where he served with principle and integrity.

Tom had a natural eye for photography and enjoyed capturing nature, astronomical events, and his adventures on film. After photographing a trip to Tuolumne Meadows and Mt. Ritter with his sons, he met fellow photographer Kathleen O’Donnell while developing his photos. They were married on November 8, 2003.

Tom and Kathleen co-founded Studio Time and Space in downtown Springfield, a nonprofit community space for yoga, meditation, dance and other healing arts. Studio Time and Space frequently hosted lineage lamas in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and Tom worked closely with Khenpo Pema Wangdak in furtherance of compassion and mindfulness through the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tom was generous with his time and often volunteered his skills and dogged work ethic to help friends, family and those who shared his vision of a more creative, peaceful world. This generosity extended to his spiritual community, often building furniture and ceremonial objects, assisting in large projects and events, and building community. In all respects, Tom was known for his resilient, positive attitude, his good humor, and being without complaint.

He is survived by his wife Kathleen O’Donnell of Springfield, VT; his children Ramlah Lauritsen of Springfield, VT, Mathew Lauritsen of Portland, OR, and Seth Lauritsen of Chester, VT; his stepson Miles O'Donnell; his first wife Neomi (Meixner) Lauritsen; his son in law Jason Leonard and daughter in law Melissa Nelson; ; his grandchildren Ezra and Asa Leonard, Charles and Mary Chakmakian, and Sophia and Ciaran Lauritsen; his four siblings Steve Lauritsen of Ceres CA, Teri Sternburg of Mt. Shasta CA, John Seth Sherman of Corvallis OR, and Mike Sherman of Santa Ana CA; and other relatives, chosen family and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his father Charles Harold Lauritsen and his stepmother Doe Jean Seth, and by his mother Juliet Nicol and stepfather Milton Sherman, and by his stepsister Dianne Mccracken.

He loved us, and we loved him.

Family & friends will gather at a later date to be announced. Knight Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed in an online guestbook found at www.knightfuneralhomes.com