Lara Kristin Echerd, age 46, peacefully passed away on August 25, 2025, after a courageous battle with metastatic breast cancer. She was born on November 11, 1978 in Houston, Texas.
Following her graduation from St. Mark’s High School in Wilmington, DE, Lara earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training from the University of Delaware in 2001. During her college years, she was actively involved in Baptist Student Ministry. Upon graduation, she entered Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, receiving a Master of Divinity degree in 2005. While there, she was in a study abroad program at Oxford and assisted in ministry at the USNA in Annapolis, MD.
Lara’s focus was now on college students, seeking to mentor and encourage them to place their faith in Jesus Christ. She moved to Williamsport, PA, working with students at Lycoming College and Penn College, before continuing her ministry at Penn State University. Lara worked with the Baptist Resource Network’s (BRN) Collegiate Ministry Team for a number of years. She touched the lives of countless students who will always remember the joy she showed in living out her faith.
Lara became a Paraprofessional at Gray’s Woods Elementary School, spreading her love to young children. She had an amazing ability to reach people from all walks of life, as evidenced by her time at KB&B Realtors and Mt. Nittany Winery.
Painting was a hobby, but travel was an opportunity for her to learn about other cultures. Due to her father’s engineering job with DuPont, Lara lived with her family in four different states and in Taiwan for three years, allowing her to travel to places like Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand. This love of travel continued in college and during her ministry years with various mission trips, including Brazil, Russia and taking a group of students to China one year during Christmas.
In the midst of Lara’s life was a family she dearly loved. She is survived by her parents, Ed and Phyllis Echerd of Richmond VA.; her sister Katherine Echerd Collins and her cherished nieces, Allison Randall, Leah Randall, Cassidy Collins, and McKenzie Collins, all of Woodbine, MD.
In her lifetime, Lara was a loving, courageous and faith-filled individual. Her memory will be cherished by all who had the privilege of knowing her. May her legacy live on in the lives of her family, friends, and the many other ones she touched.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at the State College Alliance Church, 1221 W. Whitehall Rd., State College, PA. Family will receive friends at 10:00.
The service will be live streamed at https://live.scalliancechurch.com
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Lara’s memory may be made to METAvivor.org (Metastatic Breast Cancer Research, Support and Awareness) or reach out in your own way to touch the lives of others with Christ’s love.
This obituary was originally published on www.kochfuneralhome.com by Koch Funeral Home.
