Laura Spurr
Encyclopedia
Laura Spurr was the American
chairwoman of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi
, a federally recognized Potawatomi
Indian
tribe
based in Calhoun County
, Michigan
, from 2003 until her death in 2010.
, on August 10, 1945, but was raised in Athens, Michigan
. She attended Athens High School before earning a bachelor's degree
in nursing
on a scholarship
to the University of Michigan
in 1971. She married her husband, Stephen Spurr, on March 13, 1971.
Spurr began her nursing career at the University of Michigan Medical Center
in Ann Arbor. She worked in nursing for more than forty years throughout the United States, including New York
, Washington D.C., Chicago
and Grosse Pointe
, Michigan. She taught nursing at Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center
in Greenwich Village
, New York City
, beginning in 1971. She relocated with her husband to Washington D.C., where she worked as a nurse administrator, teacher and nurse. Spurr moved with her family back to Michigan in 1987, where she worked at a Detroit hospital.
She received a master's degree
in nursing administration and education from DePaul University
, later working as supervisor
and administrator.
from 2001 until 2003. Spurr once again became the Nottawaseppi Huron Band's chairwoman in 2003, a position she held until February 2010.
Spurr worked for more than a decade to place the Nottawaseppi Huron Band's land in a federal trust and to build the FireKeepers Casino
on the reservation in Battle Creek. Spurr oversaw much of the development of the $300 million FireKeepers Casino, which opened in Emmett Township, Michigan
, on August 5, 2009.
A resident of Grosse Pointe Park in Metro Detroit
, Spurr drove to the tribe's headquarters near Athens, in western Michigan, for business where she worked on the Nottawaseppi Huron Band's behalf for 60 to 70 hours per week as chairwoman. She represented the tribe as the United States Environmental Protection Agency
's National Tribal Operations Committee. Spurr also created health and education committees for the tribal government and launched a scholarship program. She also helped to develop residential homes, a health center and a community center on the Pine Creek Indian Reservation.
On February 10, 2009, the Native American Finance Officers Association honored her as one of its two “Tribal Leaders of the Year” for her efforts to develop the FireKeepers Casino. The award honors two Native Americans who positively influence their communities through "perseverance, creativity and outstanding public service."
In late February 2010, Spurr travelled to California
to present the design and construction plans of the FireKeepers Casino at a conference held at the Pechanga Resort and Casino
on the Pechanga band of Luiseño Indians reservation. Spurr collapsed from cardiopulmonary arrest on Thursday, February 18, 2010, shortly after completing her presentation to the conference. She was taken to the Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta, California
, where she died on Friday afternoon February 19, 2010, at the age of 64.
She was survived by her husband, Stephen J. Spurr, an economics professor
at Wayne State University
; and their sons, Nathaniel and Josiah; her mother, Irene Wesley; and her sister, Mary Wesley. Spurr and her husband were residents of Grosse Pointe Park at the time of her death.
Spurr was buried at a family burial plot in East Alstead, New Hampshire
, following her funeral, which included a pipe ceremony.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chairwoman of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi
The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi is a federally recognized Potawatomi Indian tribe. The Tribe received its federal recognition on December 19, 1995. The NHBP are not connected with the Iroquoian tribe, Huron. The NHBP reservation is located at in Athens Township in southwestern Calhoun...
, a federally recognized Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
based in Calhoun County
Calhoun County, Michigan
-Interstates:* I-69* I-94* I-194* I-94 Business Loop serves the city of Albion.* I-94 Business Loop serves the city of Battle Creek.* I-94 Business Loop serves the city of Marshall.-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-37* M-60* M-66* M-78* M-89* M-96* M-99...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, from 2003 until her death in 2010.
Personal life and career
Spurr was born Laura Alonzo Wesley in Battle Creek, MichiganBattle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
, on August 10, 1945, but was raised in Athens, Michigan
Athens, Michigan
Athens is a village in Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,111 at the 2000 census. The village is located in southern Athens Township, and is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled in 1831.-Geography:According to the United...
. She attended Athens High School before earning a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
on a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1971. She married her husband, Stephen Spurr, on March 13, 1971.
Spurr began her nursing career at the University of Michigan Medical Center
University of Michigan Health System
The University of Michigan Health System is the wholly owned academic medical center of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. UMHS includes the U-M Medical School, with its Faculty Group Practice and many research laboratories; the U-M Hospitals and Health Centers, which includes University...
in Ann Arbor. She worked in nursing for more than forty years throughout the United States, including New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Washington D.C., Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe refers to a coastal area in Metro Detroit, Michigan, United States that comprises five adjacent individual communities. From southwest to northeast, they are:*Grosse Pointe Park, city*Grosse Pointe, city*Grosse Pointe Farms, city...
, Michigan. She taught nursing at Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center
Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers ' was a healthcare system, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, locally referred to as "St. Vincent's". St. Vincent's was founded in 1849 and closed in 2010...
in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, beginning in 1971. She relocated with her husband to Washington D.C., where she worked as a nurse administrator, teacher and nurse. Spurr moved with her family back to Michigan in 1987, where she worked at a Detroit hospital.
She received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in nursing administration and education from DePaul University
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
, later working as supervisor
Supervisor
A supervisor, foreperson, team leader, overseer, cell coach, facilitator, or area coordinator is a manager in a position of trust in business...
and administrator.
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi
Spurr joined the Nottawaseppi Tribal Council in 1999. She became chairman of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi from 2000 until 2001, before becoming the tribe's treasurerTreasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
from 2001 until 2003. Spurr once again became the Nottawaseppi Huron Band's chairwoman in 2003, a position she held until February 2010.
Spurr worked for more than a decade to place the Nottawaseppi Huron Band's land in a federal trust and to build the FireKeepers Casino
FireKeepers Casino
FireKeepers Casino is a casino located in Emmett Charter Township, Michigan, between Battle Creek and Marshall. It is owned by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi and managed by Gaming Entertainment , L.L.C., a joint venture between Full House Resorts and RAM Entertainment...
on the reservation in Battle Creek. Spurr oversaw much of the development of the $300 million FireKeepers Casino, which opened in Emmett Township, Michigan
Emmett Charter Township, Michigan
Emmett Charter Township is a charter township of Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, on August 5, 2009.
A resident of Grosse Pointe Park in Metro Detroit
Metro Detroit
The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit which shares an international border with Windsor, Ontario. The Detroit metropolitan area is the second largest U.S. metropolitan area...
, Spurr drove to the tribe's headquarters near Athens, in western Michigan, for business where she worked on the Nottawaseppi Huron Band's behalf for 60 to 70 hours per week as chairwoman. She represented the tribe as the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
's National Tribal Operations Committee. Spurr also created health and education committees for the tribal government and launched a scholarship program. She also helped to develop residential homes, a health center and a community center on the Pine Creek Indian Reservation.
On February 10, 2009, the Native American Finance Officers Association honored her as one of its two “Tribal Leaders of the Year” for her efforts to develop the FireKeepers Casino. The award honors two Native Americans who positively influence their communities through "perseverance, creativity and outstanding public service."
In late February 2010, Spurr travelled to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to present the design and construction plans of the FireKeepers Casino at a conference held at the Pechanga Resort and Casino
Pechanga Resort and Casino
Pechanga Resort and Casino is an Indian Casino on the Pechanga Indian Reservation in Temecula, California. Pechanga Resort and Casino is the largest casino in the state of California, with 3,400 slot machines and approximately of gaming space.-History:...
on the Pechanga band of Luiseño Indians reservation. Spurr collapsed from cardiopulmonary arrest on Thursday, February 18, 2010, shortly after completing her presentation to the conference. She was taken to the Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta, California
Murrieta, California
Murrieta has a Mediterranean climate or Dry-Summer Subtropical . Murrieta has plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with an average of 263 sunshine days and 35 days with measurable precipitation annually....
, where she died on Friday afternoon February 19, 2010, at the age of 64.
She was survived by her husband, Stephen J. Spurr, an economics professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
; and their sons, Nathaniel and Josiah; her mother, Irene Wesley; and her sister, Mary Wesley. Spurr and her husband were residents of Grosse Pointe Park at the time of her death.
Spurr was buried at a family burial plot in East Alstead, New Hampshire
Alstead, New Hampshire
Alstead is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,937 at the 2010 census. Alstead is home to Feuer State Forest.-History:...
, following her funeral, which included a pipe ceremony.