Lori Lee Sanborn

Lori Lee Sanborn (Woodard) passed away suddenly on the morning of Sunday July 3, 2016 at her home in Batavia, NY. Lori and her husband Joseph had welcomed their first child, Orianna Grace, only two weeks before.


Lori was born on Tuesday, August 30th, 1977 in Goldsboro, North Carolina at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, on her sister's 3rd birthday. She was a 1995 graduate of Gates-Chili High School, where she overachieved in both academics and cheerleading. She also attended RIT for Hotel and Restaurant Management, which is where she met her husband, Joseph Sanborn. Since the store's grand opening when Lori was in high school, she's worked for Wegmans at the Chili-Paul location. A majority of that time she spent working in the pharmacy department.

Along with being a wife and mother she was a daughter (Steven Woodard and Amy (David) Johnston), sister (Lisa and Jason and Wendy), daughter-in-law (Grant Sanborn and Davette Sanborn), sister-in-law (Amy and Ryan, John and Kathy, Daniel), an Aunt Orli (Jason Jr., Aiden, Morgan, Amelia, Lucas, Jack and Kate, and many honorary nieces and nephews), a granddaughter, a niece, a cousin, a best friend and someone special to everyone who knew her. Lori will be reunited in soul with her father, grandfather, uncle, and many others that will now get to enjoy Lori as we once did.

Lori was great at a lot of things, however being an aunt was the one thing she did best. She enjoyed camping, sewing, cooking, listening to books, inappropriate humor, playing darts, vacationing on the beach, a glass of riesling, a bottle of Budweiser and of course her countless friends. Lori was kind hearted, caring, funny, strong, soft, stubborn, understanding and always right. She will certainly be missed by all.

Lori Sanborn (Woodard) started off her pregnancy knowing it was high risk. She did everything right. She was the perfect mother from day one. Her pregnancy was pretty uneventful right up until the delivery when Lori lost a lot of blood. Lori was moved from Labor and Delivery to the ICU and her life was saved due to a blood transfusion. Baby Orianna was moved to the NICU at a different hospital due of her traumatic birth. Orianna quickly improved and when she was 4 days old, she was released to her father. Lori had been in and out of the ICU, and was finally reunited with her precious angel. She spent another five days in the hospital and then the Sanborn family finally got to return home to Batavia. They had been home for four days when Lori passed.

Lori was an amazing woman, and she left behind an amazing legacy that we would like to protect. If you would like to contribute to a trust for Orianna, please send a check made out to Orianna Sanborn (or Joseph Sanborn) to:

Orianna Sanborn
c/o Jason & Wendy Woodard
13 Omega Drive
Rochester, NY 14624


Calling hours will be held on Sunday, July 10th between 12:00 and 3:00, with a service to follow at New Comer Funeral Home, 2636 Ridgeway Ave, Rochester, NY 14626. There will be a reception for friends and family at the home of Amy and David Johnston in Hilton following the service.


In lieu of flowers please consider donating or giving blood to the American Red Cross.