Laura Aitken

Laura Tapia Aitken of Oakland New Jersey, 93 years old, passed away peacefully on November 5th at her assisted living facility. She is survived by her brother Fernando, children Peter and Alexandra, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She was born in Panama in 1924 and came to the U.S. when she was 17 to attend Colby College, where she met her future husband Hugh Aitken (1924-2012). She later received a Master’s degree from Wellesley College. She was involved in education her whole life, working as a primary school teacher for a number of years before obtaining a doctoral degree from Fordham University and joining the education faculty at William Patterson College, where she worked for the remainder of her career. She was also a member of the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood.