Elizabeth Anne Laferriere, 53, of Alderson, known to many as Mom, Momma Beth, and simply “love,” passed away unexpectedly on Aug. 7, 2025, while on a date with her husband at the West Virginia State Fair.
Born Oct. 4, 1972, Elizabeth’s life was rich with love, laughter, and connection. She was a devoted wife to Neal Laferriere, a nurturing mother to Ion Mocco, Neal “Bubba” Laferriere, Gunnar Brown, Kyle Brown, Aloura Laferriere, Cody Laferriere, and Ally “Rambler” Laferriere, and a beloved sister to Amber Mocco and Aaron Mocco.
Elizabeth was a pagan, deeply rooted in her connection to the earth, the seasons, and the cycles of life. She loved gardening, reading, traveling, and experiencing the magic of musicals and plays. She found joy in caring for animals, tending to her homestead and farm, and in opening her home and heart to anyone in need. Friends and strangers alike knew her as a compassionate listener, offering gentle words, an open mind, and a soft shoulder with an even softer heart.
Her family was the center of her universe. She cherished every moment with them whether it was working side by side in the garden, traveling together, or simply sitting in the living room talking late into the night. She gave of herself freely and fully, leaving every life she touched a little lighter and a little more whole.
Elizabeth’s life and spirit are captured in the words of this tribute:
For Elizabeth from the Family:
Sand Castles on Your Shore
We built you in the high summer,
when the light lingered past bedtime,
and laughter spilled
like buckets brimming with ocean.
Grain by grain,
you rose in quiet majesty,
walls carved with open hands,
arches shaped to welcome anyone
who wandered from the long stretch of beach.
Our children ran in and out of your gates,
barefoot and certain
that your towers could never fall.
Other children came too,
the ones we never birthed
but claimed all the same
resting in your shade,
pressing their small palms to your cool walls,
feeling the safety you carried.
You stood through every tide of our years
mornings when waves kissed your foundation,
nights when stars crowned your tallest spire.
And then, the ocean called.
It wasn’t sudden
the tide had been gathering,
pulling farther out,
then returning with more insistence,
until one morning,
we stood ankle-deep in its reach,
watching it carry you home.
The children cried,
their voices rising against the wind,
as if they could hold you together
with the sound of their grief.
I wanted to join them,
to scoop the sand back into your form,
but the sea is an older keeper than we are.
Now the shore is flat and endless,
but if you walk it barefoot,
you’ll feel you still there
in the cool press of damp earth,
in the shapes the tide leaves behind,
in the memory of a castle
that taught us all what it meant
To belong.
A celebration of Elizabeth’s life will be held Saturday, Aug. 16, at 5 p.m. at the grounds of WV Renaissance Festival. Family and friends are invited to share memories, laughter, and love in honor of the beautiful life she lived.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you plant something in her memory, share kindness with a stranger, or take time to listen to someone who needs to be heard because that is what she would have done.
Online condolences and memories may be shared with the Laferriere family at www.lobbanfh.com.
