MAURA FOY COURSEY

1994-2023

Maura Coursey was born in 1994 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Growing up, she spent summers and holidays visiting extended family in California as well as exploring the mountains and deserts of Utah and California. She graduated from West High and completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Utah in International Affairs. At the time of her death in 2023 she was thriving in every aspect of her life, as happy as we had ever seen her, while pursuing a Masters Degree in public policy at Princeton University. Maura is survived by her parents Mary and Jeff, her sister Kate, her beloved kitty Satchel, and about a million cousins and other relatives, as well as countless ‘best friends,’ all of whom she considered family.

Please note: We have set up a fund in Maura's name. In lieu of other donations, consider donating to the Maura Coursey Fund — see below.

ABOUT MAURA

Maura was a force of nature — indestructibly herself, firm in her deep sense of purpose and commitment to justice, never afraid to speak out. She was funny and brilliant, with a heart of gold.

Maura found intense joy in making music with others — her transcendent, dynamic singing transported us all to another realm. Her favorite day of the year was Easter, when her aunt and uncle offered an open house, and a host of friends and family joined together with food and instruments for a full day of music and revelry. Her love of community was also expressed through the movie nights and game nights she frequently organized. Maura loved language — both foreign languages as well as the nuances of the English language. She was a passionate reader and deep thinker; she read books to challenge her perception of what was possible and was famous for her rants about one injustice or another. She wrote screenplays and was well into crafting a dystopian TV series in which water had become the world’s currency. As a fitness boxing trainer, Maura took part in establishing the first Utah-based affiliate of Rock Steady Boxing, a specialized program designed as treatment for Parkinson's disease. Maura came home to herself when she discovered Muay Thai fighting in 2015 — it brought her such joy! She loved its cultural and spiritual roots and the fact that her training partners became her family. She was at the height of her skill when she died, all set to go pro. Maura had a brilliant, irreverent sense of humor, one that helped us all take life a little less seriously. She created needle-points for her closest friends with cryptic, sarcastic sayings like “I hate you the least” (to her boss) and “Ten out of ten people will die.” She loved hiking and backpacking, filled her home with plants, and liberally populated her iPad with photos of her kitty, Satchel, whom she adored.

MAURA AS FRIEND

Maura was a rock solid friend — a safe haven who always had your back. She was also brutally honest, with a no-nonsense approach to loving that was often provocative and yet engendered deep admiration and dedication. She did not try to make people like her, which allowed her to be truly authentic. This refreshing authenticity was perhaps her greatest gift — she inspired and empowered, giving courage to those around her to claim who they were proudly and without apology.

TRANSCENDING HARDSHIP TO FIND PURPOSE

Maura had her share of struggles in life. As a lesbian raised in a homophobic culture, she grappled with the constant feeling of being an outsider. In 2015, a dear friend of hers took her own life, and this deeply felt loss further reinforced Maura’s passion to reduce harm in the world in any way that she could. As she both experienced and witnessed the suffering within marginalized communities, Maura determined to devote her life to purposeful action in support of those without a voice.

MAURA AND HER PASSION FOR JUSTICE

From an early age, Maura was a part of and worked with front-line communities. As a young teen, she would ride buses just to meet and talk with people experiencing homelessness, to better understand their lives. In high school she worked as a counselor at a summer camp focused on building diversity, equity, and inclusion. In 2019 she became an advocate at the YWCA domestic violence shelter, where many of the clients were experiencing chronic homelessness, substance abuse disorders, and untreated mental health conditions. In 2021 she began working with refugees settling in the Salt Lake City area as the primary provider of domestic violence prevention and intervention services at the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

Working so closely with clients at the YWCA and at IRC played a significant part in Maura's decision to pursue her Masters in Public Affairs at Princeton. She had a focus on domestic policy, with the goal to use her training as a springboard to effect meaningful change. Special passions included working to recognize and prevent human trafficking, advocating for the rights of LGBTQI+ populations, climate resilience and migration, criminal justice reform, and expanding affordable housing as a key tool to solve many societal ills.

“SHE WAS GOING TO CHANGE THE WORLD”

In the words of one of Maura’s friend’s from Princeton, “Maura accomplished more in 28 years than most of us will in a lifetime.” Another friend added, “She was going to change the world.” The truth is, Maura did change the world, one person at a time. She transformed all who knew her and touched many lives in the process. The full fruition of her life and work has yet to unfold, as her influence ripples out over time.

THE MAURA COURSEY FUND

Inspired by Maura’s deeply-held pursuit of dignity for all persons, the Maura Coursey Fund  gives us all a unique opportunity to carry on the meaningful and visionary work that she started. The fund will provide support to nonprofit work in equity, inclusion, trauma-informed approaches, harm reduction, and fierce safe-guarding of individual dignity and worth in marginalized populations. Please consider joining us with a donation.

For more information on the Maura Coursey Fund: mauracoursey.com

Maura was awesome and one-of-a-kind. We are grateful for the privilege of having known her, and will dearly miss her always.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Salt Lake City for family and friends on May 27, 2023.

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