Lauri Gulbrand, a veteran Brown County (Wisconsin) Public Safety Communications supervisor, died Monday, Oct. 12, surrounded by family, after a long battle with breast cancer.

Mrs. Gulbrand dedicated 30 years of her life to law enforcement and public safety communications. She was a dispatcher in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, from 1988 to 1994. She was a deputy sheriff with the Kewaunee County Sheriff’s Department from 1994 until 2001, where she eventually became a sergeant. She developed a deep passion for training and carried that into her duties as a dispatcher/trainer at the Brown County Sheriff Department’s communications Center.

During the consolidation of local dispatch centers into what is now known as Brown County Public Safety Communications, Mrs. Gulbrand continued her high level of dedication. She was one of the original supervisors chosen to lead the early days of BCPSC’s development.

According to Renee Ruiz, assistant director of Brown County Public Safety Communications, Mrs. Gulbrand “served admirably as our agency training coordinator and TIME System Coordinator (TAC) for 20 years. She had an impact mentoring dozens of new telecommunicators and ensured they received what they needed to forge lifetime careers in our 9-1-1 profession.”

“She believed fiercely in the importance of training and the recognition of 9-1-1 as a profession, and not just a job.” Ruiz said. “She spent more than a year studying every aspect of leadership in public safety through APCO (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials) and attained their professional distinction of Registered Public-Safety Leader (RPL) in 2013. Lauri’s passion for serving continued, and she was selected to serve nationally on APCO’s Members and Chapter Services Committee (MCSC). In 2014 she assumed the role of president of the Wisconsin APCO Chapter, working on standards and even legislation to increase training and access to training for public safety professionals.”

According to her colleagues, Mrs. Gulbrand loved her work family, profession, friends and family. She had a great sense of humor and was an avid Green Bay Packers fan, which included creating a special Facebook group devoted to her love for the Packers and camaraderie amongst women. She had a special affinity for Packers linebacker Clay Matthews and loved to quilt, creating special remembrance items for her family and friends.

“A devoted wife and mother, Lauri experienced the joy of her daughter, Taylor, graduating from high school this year and her son, Cody, accepting an officer assignment with the Algoma Police Department.” Ruiz said.

Mrs. Gulbrand is survived by her husband, Kewaunee County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Chris Gulbrand, her daughter Taylor, her son Cody, and a host of grieving friends and colleagues at Brown County Public Safety.

“Lauri valiantly fought and defeated breast cancer several years ago,” Ruiz said. “She has struggled through 2015 with illness and fought with everything in her to the end. For us, she is an example of courage and strength.”

See obituary and funeral arrangements at http://proko-wall.i-lived.com/obituary/2015-10-12/Laura-Lei-Gulbrand/