Laurie J. deSousa of Provincetown and Colebrook, N.H. died peacefully on Sept. 8, 2024 at Royal Health Cotuit in Mashpee. The cause of death was complications of multiple sclerosis and Darier’s disease. She was 63.
The oldest of three daughters of Dolores and Fernando deSousa, Laurie was born on Oct. 26, 1960 in Provincetown. Her mother served on the board of selectmen, and her father was a Provincetown police officer.
“Laurie was an excellent big sister,” said her sister Yvonne, who was nine years younger. “She let me tag along with her and her friends, and although she would tease me, she was very protective.” With her friend Amanda Morris, Laurie taught in the Camp Fire Girls program as a high schooler. “I was too young for her group,” Yvonne said, “but she included me anyway.”
Always a hard worker, Laurie at age 12 delivered the Cape Cod Times on roller skates, which the paper documented with a photo. Two years later, she worked her first summer job at the Mad Hatter in Provincetown. She graduated from the early childhood education program at Cape Cod Tech in 1978.
After graduation, she studied American Sign Language before taking a job as a house parent for elementary and middle-school resident students at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown. Laurie brought some of the students to Provincetown for long Cape weekends as a treat and welcome break from the rigors of school.
Laurie returned to Provincetown in 1982, and although she was afraid of flying, she took a job as a flight attendant on DC-3s for Provincetown-Boston Airlines (later Cape Air). It turned out to be a job she loved for the two summers she held it.
In 1985, Laurie started working at the Corner Gift Shop and, during the school year, at the Cape Cod Collaborative in Osterville as a teacher’s aide for students with learning and physical disabilities. Often on weekends she would care for local children whose parents were traveling or otherwise needed support.
After marrying Andrew Green in 1988 and giving birth to their son, Drew, in 1990, Laurie took some time off but soon returned to work at the front desk of Outer Cape Health Services in Provincetown, where she enjoyed seeing local friends every day. Her marriage ended in 1995.
Laurie worked on the advisory committee for Provincetown’s playground construction program in 1997, the year that saw the completion of the East End Playground. She later served on the town’s disabilities commission.
Provincetown Police Officer Tom Steele, a former paratrooper, and Laurie became partners in 1999. Her earlier work on DC-3s was part of their bond. Although DC-3s were flown mostly during World War II, Tom had jumped from one and he had often flown into Provincetown on one in the years before Laurie worked for PBA.
Five years after they got together, Laurie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and although there is no evidence of a hereditary link to the disease, both her sisters were later diagnosed with the disease as well. Laurie eventually had to leave Outer Cape Health, and she devoted herself to caring for her son.
After Drew graduated from high school, Laurie and Tom began to spend more time in New Hampshire, and when Drew married and moved to Arizona, Laurie, Yvonne, and their mother visited him there each year. “But mainly,” Yvonne said, “Laurie had to manage her disease.” With the diagnosis of Darier’s disease, a severe autoimmune skin disorder, on top of MS, managing both was a challenge. For Laurie, Yvonne said, “the Darier’s was worse.”
Laurie is survived by her partner, Tom Steele of Provincetown and Colebrook, N.H.; her son, Drew Green, his wife, Kadyschia, and her grandsons, Daylen and Dayton, all of Dorchester; her parents, Dolores deSousa of Brewster and Fernando deSousa of North Truro; her sisters, Yvonne deSousa of Harwich and Audrey Barter of Lantana, Fla.; and her nephews, Jaime Barter and Dylan Barter. She also leaves her miniature pinscher, Uzi.
A celebration of Laurie’s life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 277 Commercial St., in Provincetown. All who knew her are invited to come and share their favorite memories.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Laurie’s name to the Provincetown Rescue Squad, Box 109, Provincetown or to Helping Our Women, 34 Conwell St., Provincetown.
