Filling a void and continuing a legacy

The loss of Ruth Lauritzen is keenly felt at Golden Hour Senior Center, but Marcia Driggs is doing her best to not only keep the center moving forward but to honor Lauritzen's legacy and impact.

Driggs was recently named the executive director of Golden Hour following the passing of Lauritzen.

Lauritzen had worked at the senior center for almost two years, having started as executive director in March 2022. She previously worked at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum for 30 years and worked for the school district. When Lauritzen started as the senior center director, she said she was looking forward to both spending time with the seniors and developing programs to benefit them. Over the past two years she did just that, not only bringing back several programs that had been discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic but also developing new programs and activities.

"I know she had a lot of plans going forward that unfortunately were cut way too short," Marcia Driggs said. "She had told me that even - 'I'd barely started.'"

Lauritzen passed away December 9, 2023, from complications of pancreatic cancer.

Driggs explained that the loss of Lauritzen was very sudden and very difficult. Driggs still struggled to hold back tears as she spoke about her previous boss and friend.

"She left a big void here," Driggs said.

Having Lauritzen at GHSC was positive, according to Driggs, as she was a highly intelligent woman who brought in lots of ideas for the center in her quiet but funny way. She also brought her love for history into her role as director.

"She was such a historian," Driggs remembered.

While GHSC regularly does bus trips, including trips to casinos, Lauritzen also made a point of taking trips to areas of historical significance around Wyoming. She loved taking the seniors to places like museums and historic sites, and she always had things and places she was excited to show them, according to Driggs.

Lauritzen brought other areas of interest to the senior center as well.

"Ruth was really big into the arts," Driggs said, explaining it was important to Lauritzen to have lots of different art activities and classes to offer at the center, from acrylics to water painting.

One of the artistic activities Lauritzen was especially passionate about was a Ukrainian egg decorating class. While the center did an egg decorating class last year, it wasn't quite what Lauritzen had in mind, Driggs explained. She had a very specific vision for decorating pysanky - colorful, intricately painted eggs.

"It's a big deal, and she really was serious about that," Driggs said. "So we're making sure that happens."

The senior center is planning to have the egg decorating class in March, and Driggs explained that it will likely take all day since the class can last about seven hours. It will be interesting and challenging, but Driggs is determined to make Lauritzen's vision a reality.

"I know that egg class meant a lot to her, so we're going to try to do it right," Driggs said.

The pysanky class is just one of the ways Driggs is working to continue Lauritzen's legacy at the senior center.

Another area Driggs is working on is reintroducing more mental health classes, which is something Lauritzen had begun work on last year. This is also a requirement for the center since it's grant-funded, but it can be hard to find people to teach courses. Driggs has been working with one of the seniors at the center who has a background in the mental health field to develop a class.

As Driggs finds ways to continue Lauritzen's plans and visions for the center, she's been busy trying to manager her old job and her new role. Driggs has worked at Golden Hour for the past five and a half years as the office manager. She was asked if she was interested in the director position two years ago, but she didn't feel ready at the time, which was when Lauritzen was hired. But after a few years of working closely together with Lauritzen and being her right-hand woman, Driggs felt more prepared to take on the role.

"I was able to just step into it and feel more confident with the whole situation," Driggs explained. "That office manager position is kind of like the hub. You kind of know everything that's going on. So it definitely prepares you to step into this role a lot easier. You're kind of the eyes and ears of the center in that position. You have to really be on top of things."

Driggs explained that as the office manager she worked with all the different staff members and had experience with all their positions, which made taking on the role of director even easier.

The transition has had its challenges, however, particularly as Driggs has been trying to juggle the jobs of both office manager and director at the same time. She is looking to hire someone for the office manager role, and she is working to keep everything going in the meantime. Still, Driggs was excited for the normal activities happening at the center this month, and looking forward to plans for the future.