Laura Daniela Gutierrez Funderburk

Laura ( Danny) was a force of nature since birth. She grabbed on to the pediatrician’s clamp while he picked her up from the surgeon during the C-section. Her huge eyes opened, and her tiny hand grasped the cold metal: “She is an APGAR eleven” said the doctor, to which I replied, “She is soooo beautiful”, chocked in tears. And that she was.

Her beauty shined in her resilience to the many hardships she faced, and her commitment to any tasks undertaken became her trademark.

She was beautifully stubborn. Math may not have been her favorite subject growing up, but she obtained her Bachelor of Mathematics from Simon Fraser University, where she was also awarded the Terry Fox medal and scholarship for her endurance in difficult times and support for the community.

Beautifully creative and hardworking also describe her. It was at SFU that she began her research work and contributed to a study using mathematical models to explain the population of mussels in BC coasts. Building models was a beginning to how intensely she would become involved in data science. This road took her to become a data scientist and DevOps engineer, resulting in numerous workshops and conferences, as well as her wonderful book on LLM pipelines which came out in December of 2025.

Her beauty reflected in her love for everything natural as well. She was a free spirit and enjoyed nature in all its forms. “Mom, when I finish jogging on SFU’s trails, I come out of the bush like a sweaty bear!...agrr...hair all crazed…”, which became one of our jokes. Being out there was her pleasure and her way of feeling better when things got tough. Mountains, forests and lakes, as well as the ocean – were her sanctuary and refuge.

She enjoyed anything that entailed intense work, including at first Muay Thai, and later Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which she started practicing in her late twenties. The road was not easy, but Jiu Jitsu gave her an arena where she could fully challenge and express herself while she generously helped her mates and trainees. She dove into the work and became a staple of beautiful and true sportsmanship.

Her love for music followed her as she wore her distinctive headphones- always - and her eclectic taste for all kinds of genre , which I could many times hear over her those headphones, and boy did she look gorgeous wearing them together with her sunglasses.

She leaves us in body, but her love and the memories of her beautiful life stay with us, as we honor the paths she chose in life and in death.

We will miss you and forever love you, our beautiful Laura.

Your loving mother Rosa and brothers Mario and Diego