Laurie Kahn's Obituary
Beloved Wife, Mother, Grandmother, and Friend
Laurie Kahn, 74, of New Port Richey, Florida, passed away peacefully on May 12, 2025 with family by her side. Above all things, Laurie cherished and nurtured her family. She found deep fulfillment and joy in quietly being an extraordinary wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandmother and friend.
Born in Manhattan, Laurie first lived in Stuyvesant Town, and grew up in the suburbs of New York City. She graduated from Ardsley High School in 1969 and earned an accounting degree from Pace University.
In 1977, Howard Kahn and Laurie Greenberg met at a Mexican restaurant on a date set up by their mothers who were introduced at a shiva. It was pretty much love at first sight. They were married in 1978 and spent most of the next 47 years doing everything together. Tennis, skiing, travel, parties, concerts, shows and plenty of golf. Together with their children, they lived in Texas, New York, Florida, and Ohio, finally settling in the Tampa Bay area.
Early in their marriage, Laurie worked as an accountant before devoting eight years to being a full-time mother. As the kids got older, Laurie resumed her career – first at the local public library, then at JP Morgan Chase Bank, where she excelled in various roles for nearly 18 years. Throughout her career, management always found a role for Laurie because she was indispensable. Her colleagues valued her intellect, persistence, professionalism, and vibrant personality.
Howard and Laurie raised two brilliant and kind children, Andrea and Will. Laurie inspired and counseled her daughter, who pursued a career as a lawyer. She influenced and encouraged her son’s talent in fashion, design and writing. She also tamed and adored Belle, a cantankerous pomapoo that even won over Howard’s affection.
If you knew Laurie, her smile radiated warmth the moment she saw you. Her buoyant personality lifted the spirits of those around her. She was delightfully witty and laughed at everyone else’s jokes. During the past four years, Laurie was silently ferocious in her fight against a terrible disease, renal cancer. Laurie demonstrated incredible strength, perseverance, and courage and lived each day on her own terms. Throughout her life, Laurie’s gorgeous red hair always turned heads, but her compassion, generosity, intelligence and love left a lasting impression on all who knew her.
Laurie is survived by her devoted husband, Howard Kahn; her children, William Kahn and Andrea Kahn (William Kuhns); her grandchildren, Aaron and Rachel; her siblings, Raymond Greenberg and Dee Greenberg; her stepsisters Gina Scafa, MaryAnn Scafa, and Danette Scafa-McConnell; her sister-in-law Cindy Kahn, her brother-in-law Marc Kahn (Lori), her nieces Jana McGill and Julia Bustard (Todd), and her nephew Jordan Kahn.
Laurie was preceded in death by her father, Robert Greenberg, her stepfather, Gino Scafa, her mother, Claire Scafa (see Claire Scafa’s obituary here), and her stepsisters Michele Abels and Teresa Gerstein.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the Kidney Cancer Association (https://www.kidneycancer.org/) which funds kidney cancer research and supports patients; or Monday Night Hospitality (https://www.mondaynighthospitality.org/donate), a New York City food kitchen where Laurie’s son, Will, carries on the family tradition of showing people love by cooking good meals.
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