Laura Jeanne Quaynor

Laura Jeanne (Stanley) Quaynor, 41, of Powder Springs, GA passed away on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. She was born on April 6, 1982, in Glendale Heights, IL, to Keith and Dorothy Stanley. She graduated from Rosary High School in Aurora IL and went on to receive her Bachelors in African Studies and French with a minor in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, where she was an Echols scholar and met and fell in love with a fellow student, Samuel Nii Djangmah Quaynor. They were married at the Emory University Chapel on December 22, 2007. Laura continued her education at Emory University in Atlanta, where she earned a Ph.D. in Educational Studies in 2012. 

Laura was accomplished, ambitious and dynamic. She taught for 20 years; four years at the K-12 level, and the other 16 at the university level. She published 19 papers and traveled across the globe, from Savannah to South Africa, presenting her research and learning from others. She was always striving for excellence and to pursue her dream of, as she would say, “being the boss”, which led her to chairing the Advanced Studies in Education department within the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. In this role, she loved teaching and mentoring students, collaborating with both senior and junior colleagues, and drawing inspiration from both the humanity and intellectual rigor of everyone she encountered. She also served as a manuscript reviewer for publications such as Anthropology & Education Quarterly, on university committees, such as the Online Education Review Committee, and as chair of the Institutional Review Board Committee.

Laura was passionate about travel, language, culture, and art. Wherever she went, whether in Plainfield or Paris, she celebrated the community in both her professional and personal life. Laura didn’t just visit a place, she became invested in it – learning the language and customs, eating the food, celebrating the art and history. Fluent in English and French, skilled in Gã, Twi, Slovak, and Spanish, Laura was able to connect with practically everyone. Starting from an early age, this lifestyle of authentic connection prompted a lifelong commitment to service across the country and around the globe, from tutoring for the International Rescue Committee, to volunteering with the Aiken Writing Project, to being an active partner in a school for refugee children in Liberia. 

Together with her husband and four children, Laura moved down to Powder Springs, Georgia to realize their shared vision of living in a welcoming community where the family would continue to thrive. As a devoted mother, Laura loved spending time with each of her children and helping them know and love themselves. She adored spending time getting her nails done with her oldest daughter Leila, she relished each pickup soccer game in the backyard with her oldest son Lucas, she enjoyed the process of picking out new princess gowns with her youngest daughter Josephine, and she always made it a point to cuddle and play monster trucks with her youngest son Gabriel. As a devoted wife, she supported Sam through each step of medical school and collaborated as partners to dream and plan out the future. 

She was a professor, a writer, a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, and an incredible friend.

Laura is survived by her loving husband Samuel Quaynor, daughters Leila and Josephine Quaynor, sons Lucas and Gabriel Quaynor, siblings Kathleen, Annmarie, and Robert Stanley, and parents Keith and Dorothy Stanley.

The Public Visitation will be held before the service on Saturday, September 9, 2023, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Greener Pastures Funeral Home, 4405 Marietta St, Powder Springs, GA 30127.

The Funeral Service will be held the immediately after the visitation on Saturday, September 9, 2023, at 11:00 AM, at Greener Pastures Funeral Home, 4405 Marietta St, Powder Springs, GA 30127.

The Funeral Service will be live streamed. The live stream can be viewed below or by clicking the link below. The camera will activate 10 minutes prior to service.

LIVE STREAM HERE

To the Quaynor Family, we at Greener Pastures Funeral Home, extend to you our deepest sympathy & condolences. Our prayers remain that your abiding faith in God will continue to comfort, to strengthen and sustain you during your time of bereavement.

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