Obituary for Marlo Renee Laws
Marlo Renee Laws, an extraordinary person of courage and kindness, passed
away from a heart attack on January 31, 2022 at her home in Cambria Heights,
New York. She was the daughter of Hazel Van Landingham Laws and John
Fletcher Laws and was born in Brooklyn on July 10, 1949 to a loving family which
included her brothers John and Richard and her sister Dorothy Laws.
Marlo was a true baby boomer who grew up in the heady years after World War
11 in Brooklyn, and attended the Catholic elementary school right across the way
from their Bainbridge Street home. She remained a devout Catholic all her life.
The family later moved to a home in Cambria Heights and she went to Andrew
Jackson High School where she was an outstanding student and finished high
school when just 16 years old. She enrolled at Queens College of the City
University where she received an RN degree in Nursing. Marlo began work at
Bellevue Hospital and was appointed as Head Nurse in the Psychiatric Division
as one of her first jobs.
After years of dedicated service in the nursing field as a highly skilled
professional, she thought it was time for a change and decided to go to law
school. She was always a brilliant student and got accepted at the School of Law
at the University of California in Los Angeles. She enrolled in 1975 and quickly
blossomed into one of the most active and accomplished students at the school.
By the time she was in her 3rd year, Marlo had become the chairperson of the
Black Law Students Association [BLSA]- a progressive organization to effectuate
change in the legal system and promote the recruitment/ admission of African
Americans into law school. She was also an Instructor in the Community Legal
Education Program which helped communities of color understand and stand up
for their legal rights. And she was elected by her fellow students as 3rd year
Class President. Upon graduation in 1978, Marlo received the REGGIE
Fellowship for a 1 year residency in Atlanta to work on issues related to poverty
communities and the law. She always said that her law school years and
experience was the best time of her life.
She now had her Doctor of Jurisprudence [ J.D.] law degree and after passing
the law boards, was hired by the District Attorney’s Office of the Bronx Homicide
Division. This was a very challenging, tough and demanding job, especially for a
woman of color at that time. But Marlo loved the work and remained there for
some years. Her brother Richard used to say “I tell people not to mess with me
because my sister, Marlo, is a lawyer in the District Attorney’s Office and they call
her
“Lock em Up Laws.” As she continued to build her career in the legal field, she
was determined and courageous in pursuing the truth and protecting the rights of
all people. Marlo had that very rare quality of both great integrity and great
humility.
However, she eventually decided to go into the corporate world and left the
“Burning Bronx” to work for an insurance company. This meant she had to travel
a great deal and on one fateful trip, she sustained serious injuries to her neck
and head. She spent many months and then years in rehabilitation treatments
trying to recover and get back to work. During that time, she lived at the family
home with her parents in Queens, New York. When her father became ill, she
called on her nursing background to take care of him until he passed away in
January, 1994.
Her brothers and sister had all moved away long ago and had their own families.
When her mother got sick just a few years later, Marlo was the only one there to
care for her during her long illness and cancer treatments until she died in June,
2002. She was now completely alone except for her companion and beloved
dog, Dante, a gentle, chocolate labrador retriever.
Marlo was always very disciplined and goal-oriented with a strength of will that
never gave up. Now, she had to find a way to support herself and keep the family
home intact. She began a job search and knew she would have to study a great
deal more in order to get recertified in her fields. She chose to go back to
medicine and nursing rather than the law. And in 2007, she went back to work as
a psychiatric nursing specialist at Rockland County Psychiatric Hospital in
Orangeburg, New York. Braving a 4-5 hour round trip commute to work in
Upstate, New York for over 12 years, she finally retired in June, 2019. Her much -
loved brother, Richard, died suddenly in 2021 and Marlo was the only one there
to bury him and take care of his affairs after he passed away in Georgia. Her faith
helped sustain her and she remained a member of her church, Sacred Heart in
Queens.
Marlo was a deeply kind, deeply compassionate and deeply private person. She
had spent most of her life taking care of other people and her family. She had an
unwavering attentiveness and loyalty to friends, always asking how you were
doing, if you were feeling well and giving sound medical advice if you felt sick.
She would text at 3 am in the morning knowing that you, too, were a night owl.
She was always interested in learning about and sharing the amazing history of
the Van Landingham family, but not the family secrets. She liked to watch the tv
shows that dealt with the law such as “Law and Order” and “Boston Legal.” And
watching them with her, she would provide an expert legal analysis and opinion
on every case in question. She loved to go out to the movies and to music
concerts like Billy Joel. When she made friends, she was your friend for life. But
if things got thick, you might not hear from her for days or weeks ... Time and
again, she bore witness to the guiding principle in her life – that the most
important things to her were always her family and friends wherever they might
be. There was a light inside her that never went out...
Marlo Renee Laws is survived by her brother John Laws of Boston. Her brother,
Richard Van Laws passed away in April of 2021 and her sister Dorothy Laws
Young died in March, 2017. She is also survived by her many nieces and
nephews including Tatrina Young and her family Yvonne and John Young, Manu
Young and her family, Dee Van Young, Zuleika Laws and her family, Cousins
Valerie Van Isler, Yvonne Isler Ben Aaman, Eugene Isler, Alcmena White Yerger
and family, Lorraine Ward and family, Reginald Ward and family, MaryAnne
Baskett, Hazel Lee Moorer, Kyle and Krystal Lee and family, Janay Lee McGee
and family and others. And the Beloved family friends Deborah, Andrea Yedda
and Trina Hofler and their families, Destin Jenkins and his family, the Williams
family-Jeanie, Kiah and Elliott and a host of other friends and relatives around
the country.
WE CELEBRATE HER EXTRAORDINARY LIFE...
WE CHERISH HER MEMORY...
WE HONOR HER SERVICE TO SO MANY OTHERS...
WE MOURN HER PASSING...
.......... AND WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HER LIGHT .........
MAY PEACE BE UPON YOU BELOVED MARLO
AND
MAY THE ANGELS SING THEE TO THY REST...
away from a heart attack on January 31, 2022 at her home in Cambria Heights,
New York. She was the daughter of Hazel Van Landingham Laws and John
Fletcher Laws and was born in Brooklyn on July 10, 1949 to a loving family which
included her brothers John and Richard and her sister Dorothy Laws.
Marlo was a true baby boomer who grew up in the heady years after World War
11 in Brooklyn, and attended the Catholic elementary school right across the way
from their Bainbridge Street home. She remained a devout Catholic all her life.
The family later moved to a home in Cambria Heights and she went to Andrew
Jackson High School where she was an outstanding student and finished high
school when just 16 years old. She enrolled at Queens College of the City
University where she received an RN degree in Nursing. Marlo began work at
Bellevue Hospital and was appointed as Head Nurse in the Psychiatric Division
as one of her first jobs.
After years of dedicated service in the nursing field as a highly skilled
professional, she thought it was time for a change and decided to go to law
school. She was always a brilliant student and got accepted at the School of Law
at the University of California in Los Angeles. She enrolled in 1975 and quickly
blossomed into one of the most active and accomplished students at the school.
By the time she was in her 3rd year, Marlo had become the chairperson of the
Black Law Students Association [BLSA]- a progressive organization to effectuate
change in the legal system and promote the recruitment/ admission of African
Americans into law school. She was also an Instructor in the Community Legal
Education Program which helped communities of color understand and stand up
for their legal rights. And she was elected by her fellow students as 3rd year
Class President. Upon graduation in 1978, Marlo received the REGGIE
Fellowship for a 1 year residency in Atlanta to work on issues related to poverty
communities and the law. She always said that her law school years and
experience was the best time of her life.
She now had her Doctor of Jurisprudence [ J.D.] law degree and after passing
the law boards, was hired by the District Attorney’s Office of the Bronx Homicide
Division. This was a very challenging, tough and demanding job, especially for a
woman of color at that time. But Marlo loved the work and remained there for
some years. Her brother Richard used to say “I tell people not to mess with me
because my sister, Marlo, is a lawyer in the District Attorney’s Office and they call
her
“Lock em Up Laws.” As she continued to build her career in the legal field, she
was determined and courageous in pursuing the truth and protecting the rights of
all people. Marlo had that very rare quality of both great integrity and great
humility.
However, she eventually decided to go into the corporate world and left the
“Burning Bronx” to work for an insurance company. This meant she had to travel
a great deal and on one fateful trip, she sustained serious injuries to her neck
and head. She spent many months and then years in rehabilitation treatments
trying to recover and get back to work. During that time, she lived at the family
home with her parents in Queens, New York. When her father became ill, she
called on her nursing background to take care of him until he passed away in
January, 1994.
Her brothers and sister had all moved away long ago and had their own families.
When her mother got sick just a few years later, Marlo was the only one there to
care for her during her long illness and cancer treatments until she died in June,
2002. She was now completely alone except for her companion and beloved
dog, Dante, a gentle, chocolate labrador retriever.
Marlo was always very disciplined and goal-oriented with a strength of will that
never gave up. Now, she had to find a way to support herself and keep the family
home intact. She began a job search and knew she would have to study a great
deal more in order to get recertified in her fields. She chose to go back to
medicine and nursing rather than the law. And in 2007, she went back to work as
a psychiatric nursing specialist at Rockland County Psychiatric Hospital in
Orangeburg, New York. Braving a 4-5 hour round trip commute to work in
Upstate, New York for over 12 years, she finally retired in June, 2019. Her much -
loved brother, Richard, died suddenly in 2021 and Marlo was the only one there
to bury him and take care of his affairs after he passed away in Georgia. Her faith
helped sustain her and she remained a member of her church, Sacred Heart in
Queens.
Marlo was a deeply kind, deeply compassionate and deeply private person. She
had spent most of her life taking care of other people and her family. She had an
unwavering attentiveness and loyalty to friends, always asking how you were
doing, if you were feeling well and giving sound medical advice if you felt sick.
She would text at 3 am in the morning knowing that you, too, were a night owl.
She was always interested in learning about and sharing the amazing history of
the Van Landingham family, but not the family secrets. She liked to watch the tv
shows that dealt with the law such as “Law and Order” and “Boston Legal.” And
watching them with her, she would provide an expert legal analysis and opinion
on every case in question. She loved to go out to the movies and to music
concerts like Billy Joel. When she made friends, she was your friend for life. But
if things got thick, you might not hear from her for days or weeks ... Time and
again, she bore witness to the guiding principle in her life – that the most
important things to her were always her family and friends wherever they might
be. There was a light inside her that never went out...
Marlo Renee Laws is survived by her brother John Laws of Boston. Her brother,
Richard Van Laws passed away in April of 2021 and her sister Dorothy Laws
Young died in March, 2017. She is also survived by her many nieces and
nephews including Tatrina Young and her family Yvonne and John Young, Manu
Young and her family, Dee Van Young, Zuleika Laws and her family, Cousins
Valerie Van Isler, Yvonne Isler Ben Aaman, Eugene Isler, Alcmena White Yerger
and family, Lorraine Ward and family, Reginald Ward and family, MaryAnne
Baskett, Hazel Lee Moorer, Kyle and Krystal Lee and family, Janay Lee McGee
and family and others. And the Beloved family friends Deborah, Andrea Yedda
and Trina Hofler and their families, Destin Jenkins and his family, the Williams
family-Jeanie, Kiah and Elliott and a host of other friends and relatives around
the country.
WE CELEBRATE HER EXTRAORDINARY LIFE...
WE CHERISH HER MEMORY...
WE HONOR HER SERVICE TO SO MANY OTHERS...
WE MOURN HER PASSING...
.......... AND WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HER LIGHT .........
MAY PEACE BE UPON YOU BELOVED MARLO
AND
MAY THE ANGELS SING THEE TO THY REST...