Laureen Ferris had wanted to build bridges with her Lego set since she was a child.
She didn’t ever design a bridge in her career, but she helped design plenty of other things, including the addition to the Denver Public Library in the 1990s.
Ferris, an architect and for many years an activist in designing accessible structures, died at a Denver hospital Sept. 17 of complications from diabetes. She was 51.
Ferris, who contracted diabetes as a child, “was a visionary, and she lived her life until she died,” said her boss, Lucia Guzman of Denver’s Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations.
Ferris, who had been in a wheelchair since 2005, made accessibility her passion, said Loretta Martinez, who also works with the agency.
“She had the heart for disabled,” said Martinez.
“She worked until shortly before she died,” said her sister, Kathy Anderson.
Friends said Ferris considered her job with the city her “dream job.” She had to make sure all buildings were handicapped-accessible, and she often advised individuals and groups how to make changes for accessibility.
Beyond her architectural work, Ferris helped people who were being evicted or couldn’t pay their rent or a relative’s funeral bills and was active with the city’s arts and craft fairs.
“She was always the first person to volunteer for any event,” said Martinez.
Ferris was a gourmet cook, her sister said, and did the entire Thanksgiving meal for the family.
She “could make a mean pot of green chili,” said Martinez.
Laureen Ferris was born in San Diego on May 23, 1959, and graduated from high school in Albuquerque. She earned her B.A. in architecture at the University of New Mexico and her master’s in architecture at the University of Colorado Denver.
In addition to her sister, she is survived by another sister, Pat Mayerle of Silverthorne. Her brother, Skip Ferris, preceded her in death in 1992.
