Lauren "Gidget" Redmon-Vanderford
January 29, 1991 - September 19, 2020
On January 29, 1991, Lauren “Gidget” Redmon was hatched into the world. From an incredibly early age, it was clear to everyone that she was special. She could sing, she could dance and perhaps best of all, she had a mind like a steel trap. While performing in musicals and excelling as a ballet dancer, she attended the Spring Creek Academy for Gifted, Talented, and Highly Motivated students, graduating from high school at the age of 17. She spent the next few years performing with esteemed professional ballet schools and companies, including the School of American Ballet, The Pittsburgh Ballet TheaterGraduate Program, and Ballet Austin II.
In 2011, she hung up her pointe shoes to pursue another life-long interest: medicine. In 2013, she was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. Getting such a serious diagnosis at such a young age would have been devastating to anyone but Lauren was not just anyone. She continued to follow her passion, graduating with high honors from the University of Texas Houston in 2015 with her degree in nursing and many incredible lifelong friendships.
On New Year’s Eve 2016, Lauren became engaged to the love of her life, Zachery Vanderford. Lauren and Zach met in high school youth group at Christ Church, where Zach first noticed her because of her incredible laugh and unique and enviable sense of style--in particular, her oversized grandma sweater, which may or may not have featured a giant pug face. Over the years they lost touch and went their separate ways, but they never forgot each other. In the spring of 2014, after months of rekindling their relationship on the phone and via Skype, Lauren flew to visit Zach where he was stationed at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. The rest is history. Lauren and Zach were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Dallas Heritage Village on September 21, 2017. And yes, the date was chosen because of the bride’s love for the song by Earth, Wind, and Fire.
Lauren worked at Parkland Hospital in Dallas as a MICU nurse and in many other roles. She demonstrated her grit and bravery during the recent COVID-19 crisis, arriving ready to serve others even if it meant putting herself at risk. This was truly Lauren’s life calling: using her skill and intelligence to selflessly care for people from all walks of life. In further pursuit of this goal, she was studying to obtain her Doctorate in Midwifery at Baylor University, where she was, of course, excelling in all of her classes. She would have made a fantastic midwife.
Lauren had challenges in her life that the average person is lucky to never have to experience and despite them, she lived more life in her twenty-nine years than most people do in ninety. She was completely and unapologetically herself 100% of the time, and because of that people were drawn to her everywhere she went. She had the kind of laugh that was contagious and a distinct way of rolling her eyes that was--like most other things about her--impossible to imitate. If you were walking with her and happened upon an animal adoption event, you had better cross the street--she found it near impossible to say no to a furry face in need, especially if that face was wrinkled and smushed in and smelled a little bit like Fritos.
There has never been and there will never be another Gidget.
She is survived by her husband Zachery, her mother Melanie and her stepfather David Reynolds, her father Jim Redmon and her stepmother Shirley, her siblings Caitlyn Redmon, Becky Voyles (Matthew), Chris Redmon (Lindy), Heather Makin (Dan), Alan Reynolds (Aubrey), and Emily Reynolds (Matthew), and many others who called her a sister, an aunt, a coworker, a confidant, an inspiration, a teacher, and a friend. May we take comfort in knowing that she is looking down on us from heaven, holding her beloved pug Mr. B and breathing easy.
If happy little bluebirds fly / Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why, can’t I?