Malibu resident Laurel Starbird Singer died Nov. 8 at her home. She was 16.
Singer was a junior at Malibu High School, and she had friends at Santa Monica and Olympic High schools.
Singer was born in Visalia, Calif. and grew up in Three Rivers and Pacific Grove before moving to Malibu with her family in 2001. As a young girl, she was interested in animals and enjoyed taking care of the chickens, ducks and rabbits at the Malibu Garden Center. While living in Pacific Grove, she created a pie-baking business with her older sister, Grace. They hand picked olallieberries and baked the pies, then sold them throughout Pacific Grove and Monterey. Recently, Singer worked at the Malibu Sav-On and as a hostess at Coogies Beach Cafe.
Singer enjoyed listening to music and was known for her talented singing voice. She enjoyed going to movies, shopping, driving her car and spending time with her friends.
She had a talent for drawing and painting. When she was 8, the art judges at the Monterey County Fair moved two of her paintings into the 14-and-older category, and then awarded her first prize. She left behind numerous poems and spiritual writings.
Singer is survived by her parents, Tarah Nutter of Glen Ellen, Calif., and Bruce Singer of Malibu and her sisters, Grace and Cory.
A memorial celebration will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 at the main theater at the Malibu Performing Arts Center, located at 23825 Stuart Ranch Road. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Singer’s name to the Malibu Performing Arts Center.