Laura Ellen (Ritz) Sassak

Laura Ellen (Ritz) Sassak, 58, died unexpectedly Saturday July 15th, at her home in Nashua, New Hampshire, following a lengthy battle with diabetes.

She is survived by her four daughters, Jennifer Paoni (Joseph), Sarah Sassak (Bryan), Katherine Sassak (Doug), Samantha Sassak (Joseph), two grandchildren, Curtis and Madeline, her loving mother Patricia (Ayers) Ritz, her five siblings Kathleen Bernier, Rebecca Graham, Sandra Pinelle (Edward), Rachel Maccini, and Paul Ritz (Micki), as well as nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.

Laura was born in Utica, New York, and is the daughter of George and Patricia (Ayers) Ritz. Laura grew up on Wake Island and Guam and was an award-winning swimmer. The family moved to Nashua, NH in 1972. Laura was a graduate of the 1982 class of Nashua High. She attended Hesser College where she studied Criminal Justice. Laura was a secretary at Sanders for several years until leaving to raise her family.

She met her husband Mark in 1982 and they were married at Greeley Park in Nashua on May 4th, 1986. Laura and Mark were married for 29 years until Mark’s death in 2016.

Laura enjoyed gardening, crossword puzzles, The Boston Red Sox, sunbathing, true crime stories, and spending time with her family. Laura was an animal enthusiast and over the course of her life had dogs, cats, rats, ferrets, fish, and rabbits as pets. Laura’s greatest love, other than her beloved family, was the Grateful Dead, a passion she shared with her late husband.

Laura was baptized in the Catholic faith and was a parishioner of St Kathryn’s Church for many years.

Following cremation, a time of visitation will be held on Thursday July 20th from 5PM – 7PM in the Dumont-Sullivan Funeral Home, 50 Ferry St. in Hudson, NH. A funeral mass will be celebrated in ST. Kathryn’s Church, 4 Dracut Rd., Hudson on Friday July 21st at 10:00AM. All may please meet at church. A celebration of life will be held at a later date with details to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Laura’s loving memory to either the Humane Society for Nashua at www.hsfn.org or the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org To share an online message of condolence, please visit www.dumontsullivan.com