Pamela Kent Laak, 92, passed away in the early morning of May 21, 2024, while her son Bruce sat next to her, holding her hands. A daughter of Lewis Shaw Kent and Madelyn Ames Kent and the second of five children, she was born on Feb. 18, 1932, in Montclair, N.J. but spent her childhood growing up in Chatham, Mass.
Pam loved athletics and spent much of her time as a youth studying dance. An avid and lifelong learner, Pam thrived at school and graduated from Connecticut College. She married Edwin Laak and moved to Palo Alto, Calif. where she had four children. When the children were young her lap was always available for a loving back-scratch and later, words of encouragement for their varied pursuits. She loved to cook, experimenting on a family of willing mouths. Pam loved the outdoors. As a family they went on many camping trips and an especially memorable backpacking trip at Point Reyes National Seashore. She provided lots of love, encouragement, and security to her family and was always there for her friends. After raising her four children, eventually as a single mom, Pam founded and developed a thriving ballet and modern dance school and then became a business woman in Silicon Valley’s tech industry. She loved traveling, learned Spanish in Guatemala, painting in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and absorbing the local culture wherever she visited. With her longtime partner, Ken Shanon, Pam visited Morocco where they were married (at least according to traditional local wedding traditions they were married!) They also very much enjoyed windjammer cruises in the Caribbean.
Pam ended up in the sweet village of Damariscotta, where she gracefully dealt with oncoming dementia and the failings of a once-active body, never losing her beautiful and vibrant spirit and loving smile.
Pam is preceded in death by her brother, Beau; and later, by her little dog, Lucy.
She is survived by her children: Bruce Laak, of Damariscotta, Kristin Laak, of Sebastopol, Calif., Kent Laak (Denise), of Point Reyes Station, Calif., and Colin Laak, of Vashon Island, Wash.; grandchildren, Luna Hemamya Arteaga-Laak and Liam Lewis Elliot Laak; brother, Josh Kent (Barb), of Ridgway, Colo.; sisters, Debbie Springer (Charlie), of Boulder, Colo., and Lucy Smith (Peter Jackson), of Damariscotta; and many nieces and nephews.
Honoring Pam’s wishes, there was no funeral service, and arrangements were handled by Direct Cremation of Maine.
