Laura Shields Griffith

Laura Shields Griffith, of Lorton, Virginia, formerly of Newton, Massachusetts, passed away May 12, after a year-long struggle following a stroke. She was 53.

Laura, second of four children, had an enviable childhood growing up in Newton Highlands, where there were lots of kids and stay-at-home moms, freedom to walk up to the village shops to get pizza and candy, play kick ball in the street and climb trees in Cold Spring Park. She spent summers with her family at Drakes Island beach in Wells, Maine, and traveled with them to California, Bermuda and France, and had a special father/daughter trip to London.

She graduated from Newton South High School in 1989 and went on to get a BA in art history at Drew University, where she helped organize the school’s first women’s intermural rugby team. After college she joined her older sister, Elizabeth, in Washington, D.C. and had a successful career in the hospitality business, primarily in hotel sales. She subsequently worked at such prestigious hotels as The Jefferson and historic, exclusive Hay-Adams in Washington.

Laura married in 2000. She and her husband, Craig, lived in Alexandria, Virginia, and as their family grew, moved to Lorton. Laura loved her many roles, but especially that of being the mother of her three children, Connor, Charles, and Claire. She introduced them to everything from apple-picking to museums, showed them all the sights in her beloved Boston, and of course, got them addicted to lobster and the Maine beach. She made sure they all had amazing costumes every Halloween, and started as early as July making plans with them. Their home became a gathering place for their friends, who often hung around for a meal. She supported all of their endeavors, from Claire’s horseback riding, to Connor and Charles’ football years, and went through every parent’s nightmare of helping all three with homework and college applications. She was so proud that each got into the college of their choice.

Laura had a quirky sense of humor. She loved scary movies and pulling pranks, and would blow up people’s phones with crazy and funny texts. She liked to plan parties and the Griffith Halloween party was a much-anticipated event every year. She was a huge fan of Dolly Parton and saw her in concert three times. (She even named one of her four puppies after her.) She also loved Elvis, karaoke, and drag queens.

There was an artistic flair to much of what she did—the fresh flowers and scented candle on her kitchen island, the perfume bottle collection in the powder room and her miniature tea sets in the dining room. In later years she taught at the Greentree Christian preschool in Fairfax Station, and brought her love of art into the classroom. (Giving three-year-olds cutouts and glue to make their own version of Monet’s “Waterlilies”. Genius.)

Laura was also very active in her community of Laurel Hill, serving on, or chairing event-planning committees for nearly 20 years and long after her children outgrew the events. She had innovative ideas for not only celebrating holidays but for events bringing the community together, such as Spring Fling, Luau, and the infamous Casino Night.

Laura was a great cook and baker, always looking for new recipes, making relishes and jams as gifts for friends, and special cakes for birthdays. When Connor was young, she made so many cakes for neighbors that he thought it was her job.

She loved people and had many friends, with a special place in her heart for her old college friends and her Laurel Hill gal pals. That love was reciprocated many times over by hundreds of people who visited her and prayed for her recovery over the past year.

Though she was outgoing, Laura was also a private person. She suffered a great deal from medical problems, but rarely mentioned them, moving on with determination. She liked being alone, her “me” time, to watch shows on TV and read books. She needed her sleep and was known to occasionally pull the “Irish goodbye”, even at her own parties. She was beautiful on the inside and out, and could go from her signature pajama pants and sweatshirts to gorgeous in high heels in a nanosecond.

She leaves behind her husband, Craig, her three children, and Rachel Gillum, her mother, Karen Shields, her sister, Elizabeth Shields Sobol, husband Yuriy, and son Ilya, her sister, Sarah Shields and partner, Natalie Donahue, her brother, Michael Shields, and his sons, Collin, Brody and Asher, as well as much-loved aunts, uncle, cousins and many close family friends.

Though there will be a big hole in each of our hearts, there is consolation in knowing that Laura Thornton Shields, is in the arms of her father, and namesake, Lawrence Thornton Shields, her grandparents and dear friends, Anna and Zohra, who she missed so much.

Visiting hours will be held on Monday, June 2, 2025 from 4 to 7 p.m. in Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home, 9902 Braddock Road, Fairfax, Virginia. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, June 3rd at 12 Noon in Christ Church, 7600 Ox Road, Fairfax Station. Burial will follow in Fairfax Memorial Park, 4401 Burke Station Road in Fairfax.

Memorial donations may be made to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library at imaginationlibrary.com.