Lauren Ashley Shubin LaCouture

Our beloved Lauren Ashley Shubin LaCouture, age 27, of Chapel Hill, died Thursday, May 9, 2024. 

Lauren was born in Salt Lake County, Utah on February 14, 1997, to Clay Murray Shubin and Kelly Nolen Shubin. She was the only daughter with two brothers Jackson and Nolen.

Lauren loved the outdoors and lived a life full of adventure. She grew up skiing, mountain biking and had a love for tennis. But her real passion was running. She was the most determined and dedicated athlete and she loved pushing herself to her physical limits. She set a goal to run for BYU and put in the work to achieve her goal. She performed so well at the BYU autumn classic her freshman year that coach Shane Patrick offered her a spot on the team.

Coach Patrick soon learned of Lauren’s grit and determination and introduced her to the steeplechase event and it was a perfect fit. She had found a new challenge and thrived. She qualified for NCAA West Regionals at University of Kansas in May 2016 in the steeplechase. That year she was also ranked #1 in the world in the steeplechase for Juniors-ages 19 & under. After her collegiate running career, she found a new passion-the marathon. She qualified and ran the Boston Marathon twice. Once in 2019 with her brother Jackson and the iconic year 2022 when the Boston Athletic Association added another race in October of that year. Lauren set a goal to break 3 hours and accomplished that in June 2021 at the Utah Valley marathon with a time of 2:54:46. She continued to run throughout her pregnancy and ran a ½ marathon at 28 weeks.

She was a dedicated wife to Hunter and supported them financially for the last 5 years through medical school at University of Colorado in Denver. Inspirato travel company was lucky to have a dedicated team member like Lauren. She may or may not be the only employee at Inspirato  that was hired without a college degree. In typical Lauren fashion, she excelled from the customer care team to sales. She was all about the challenge.

Lauren loved making deep connections with her family and friends. She had friendships with a few of her mom’s friends that helped her navigate new changes in her life with faith and grace.

She radiated light and love and enthusiasm for life. She loved God and had a very personal relationship with our Savior. More than anything in this world, Lauren wanted to be a mom. She loved  the quote by Elder Cook “God placed within women divine qualities of strength, virtue, love, and the willingness to sacrifice to raise future generations of His spirit children.” It is still on her bulletin board in her room. When she was a teenager she used to tell her parents that she wanted 6 kids. She and Hunter were elated when they found out they were pregnant with Stella. Lauren fought hard to get little Stella Jane here and fell in love instantly. The Midwife that delivered Stella told Hunter and Lo that she would’ve advised a c-section, but knew Lauren was a marathoner and could handle the long and difficult delivery. Stella’s vitals remained stable, which attests to her  resilience. She will remain the very best reminder of her beautiful mother, Lauren.

In addition to her parents she is survived by her husband, Dr. Hunter LaCouture of Chapel Hill, one daughter, Stella Jane LaCouture of Chapel Hill, two brothers, Nolen Shubin of Provo, Utah, Jackson Shubin and wife Hailey of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and her paternal grandparents, Derek Shubin and Linda Shubin of St. George, Utah. 

Lauren was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Phillip and Diane Nolen.

In lieu of flowers the family asks for memorial contributions to be made in Lauren’s memory to https://gofund.me/d5812750

Condolences may be made at www.donaldsonfunerals.com

Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the LaCouture family.