May 31, 1977 - July 1, 2026
Laura Diane Vaillancourt, 49, of Fall River, passed away peacefully at Brigham and Women's Hospital on July 1, with her family by her side. She had courageously battled cancer for more than six years.
Laura was raised in Tiverton, Rhode Island, the first of four girls. At an early age, she developed a lifelong love of the outdoors which was nurtured by the Girl Scouts, where she became an avid camper, canoe racer, and later a troop leader. Her love of the natural world and all its creatures was consistent throughout her life.
Laura excelled in music and the visual arts. While attending Tiverton High School, she was a talented flautist, achieving first chair honors, and performed with the East Bay Wind Ensemble, RIMEA All-State Band, and won medals in several Solo and Ensemble Festivals. She found her calling in the art room, winning numerous awards for her work, including the Congressional Art Award. She was also awarded a half tuition scholarship to the Maine College of Art in Portland, a city close to her heart, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography in 1999.
She was employed for close to 20 years at Printmakers Inc. in Pawtucket, RI where she helped maximize the potential of countless people’s work. She later joined Innovative Construction, Inc. where her versatility and warm personality made her a vital member of the team. Throughout her professional life, Laura continued to work in photography, her lifelong passion. She photographed the important moments in many people's lives, later adding 3D scanning and real estate photography. She also worked on her own projects, entered and placed in competitions, and created innumerable prints, books, keepsakes, and original designs with her work. She volunteered for 11 years creating portraits of children awaiting adoption for the Heart Gallery of Adoption RI, and designed the first Heart Gallery Booklet, which is still used today. Besides photography, Laura was talented in many other media: pencil, ink, paint, fabric, beads, clay, jewelry and more. She was skilled at anything she tried.
Laura was a ravenous reader, especially of horror and history. She learned continuously and had an incredible memory for people and places. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of music, and was a frequent concert and festival-goer. Her tastes were broad and too varied to define. If you were very lucky, she made you the best mix tape or CD in your collection. She was known for her love of Volkswagen, Hello Kitty, The Simpsons, The Olympics, and myriad other fandoms. She was a patron of the arts, loved a museum day, and she felt most comfortable in the water. She will be remembered for her warmth, curiosity, and her gift for making people feel welcome. Her laugh was a treasured reward and she showed her care by always being there for the people she loved. Despite her diagnosis, she continued to work, create, travel, and rock. She refused to let cancer in the driver's seat, and lived on her own terms.
Laura is survived by her mother, Kathleen (Lajoie) Vaillancourt of Tiverton; her father, Kenneth Vaillancourt and his partner, Donna Pillsbury of East Providence and her children, Matthew and Theresa Barry, who Laura loved like siblings; three sisters, Jacqueline Vaillancourt of Woonsocket, Mary Vaillancourt and husband Liam Sullivan of Westport, April Vaillancourt and husband Aaron Weisensee of Warwick; and nephew, Aidan Weisensee. She also leaves behind a large extended family, and a great many friends from all parts of her life who adored her, all of whom deeply feel her loss.
Visitation to which relatives and friends are invited will be held Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at the Potter Funeral Home, 81 Reed Rd., Westport, MA 02790 from 4-7:30 PM immediately followed by a 7:30 PM service.
A celebration of life and retrospective of Laura's work will be held at a later time, to be announced. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to one of the following causes:
Girl Scouts of America
https://www.girlscouts.org/en/support-us/donate/donate-now.html
Adoption RI
https://adoptionri.org/impact-of-your-gift/
HopeHealth Hospice and Palliative Care
https://www.hopehealthco.org/ways-to-give/donatenow/
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
https://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2100&mfc_pref=T&2100.donation=form1