| Saturday, August 22
Memorial Service for Lori Sargent |
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Lori Sargent
November 23, 1947 – July 5, 2026
Lori was raised in Northern California and Montana with her younger siblings Diane and Dwight. She attended the Cleveland Institute of Art for two years and then returned to Montana to attend Montana State University-Billings where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Art Education. She met Steve in Billings, Montana, and they married in 1968. In the mid-seventies she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics from Wichita State University. She completed her education with a Master of Arts in Art Education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.
She was a studio potter for over 20 years and in 1994 entered the academic world as a Professor of Art at Lindsey Wilson University (LWU) in Columbia, Kentucky. Her academic dean, Bill Julian, must have sensed that Lori had a latent talent that needed to be nurtured. With Bill’s encouragement and support she became the chair of the art department, then chair of the humanities division, and finally Associate Academic Dean. While Lori’s first love had always been art, she was energized by the challenge of administrative work. The president of LWU, Bill Luckey, when hearing of death, wrote that her administrative style was both tenacious and kind.
When Lori and Steve retired, they moved to Louisville to be near their daughter’s family. They joined All Peoples Unitarian Church, and Lori was involved in many committees, her favorite being the aesthetics committee. She was a member of the Board of Trustees and served one term as the president of the board. Her administrative style remained tenacious and kind; she led by motivating members to work together toward a common goal.
During the last ten years of Lori’s life she experienced a creative renaissance. Her artwork became increasingly innovative and diverse. She designed hand-made books, miniature weavings, embroideries, and collages. In the last few years Lori made remarkable sculptural baskets. She joined LAFTA, the Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists, and loved her collaboration and friendships with her community of fiber artists. And then there were her pine cone birds. She made thousands of them over the past decade, and her primary motivation for making them was to raise funds as a gift for our church.
Travel with Steve, his sister Sharon, and her sister Diane was a highlight of retirement for Lori. She carefully planned the trips with Steve, then reflected on their experiences by making handmade travel journals filled with stories, drawings and photos. Her life and artistic pursuits were enhanced by the cultures and experiences she had around the world. In the last several years she traveled many times throughout Europe, and also to Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Road trips to Montana, Colorado, and Minnesota were a mainstay each summer.
Lori found great joy in being a mother and grandmother, and she nurtured close relationships with her daughter Heather and grandsons Luke and Aaron. Lori and Heather worked on art projects, cooked together, gardened, and often talked daily. Lori rarely missed her grandsons’ sport and music activities and she was proud of the thoughtful, kind young men they are becoming.
Lori’s death has left a deep void in our lives. We can try to fill that void with memories of Lori’s love, creativity, and joy of lif