Louise Sefton's Obituary
Louise Buggins was born on 29th May, 1962 in Perth, Western Australia to mother Florence Elsie Hewett and father John Heron Buggins. She started smiling soon thereafter and continued that way for just about the rest of her life. She was joined by two younger siblings, Anne in 1965 and Matthew in 1967, both of whom she adored, and sought to love and protect following the devastating loss of their mother to breast cancer in 1978. In her early 20s, she secured both a Bachelors degree in Biochemistry from the University of Western Australia and her first husband Mitchell Sefton, with whom she embarked on a travel extravaganza that saw her working in Greece, London, Paris, before finally rocking up in Oakland, California with a freshly minted Ph.D. from the University of London. By this stage, she’d parted ways with Mitchell, but retained both his name and her love for his family including his Nana and sister Kelli. In the US, she started off in academia, doing a post-doc at UC Berkeley, before moving into industry, with multiple roles during almost 20 years at Biorad, followed by brief stints at Lucira and Aptitude, before retiring for the second time in August 2024. In 1996, she met the man who was to become her very beloved husband – Arlyn Johns – and they eloped to Vegas in 1999, although she declined to become Louise Buggins Sefton-Johns.
As we all do, Louise faced many life challenges, including her sister Anne’s breast cancer and her own, periods of joblessness, the requisite financial worry. But her warmth and joy shone through, buoyed by her tremendous love for her family – Arlyn and his sister EmilyRose, her cherished siblings Anne, Matthew, as well as her niblings Iggy, India, Fred, George, Heron, and Elsie, and in-laws Tony and Christine. She made many trips back home to see them, as well as to socialize with her large extended family in Australia, which gave her great joy. She also formed and sustained many strong friendships over the years, and was a beacon of love and strength for her many friends. Even in her last days and weeks in hospital, her medical notes were filled with testaments of what a pleasure it was to serve on her medical team, because of what a lovely person she was. She had huge energy and enthusiasm, saying yes to hiking and backpacking, dancing, fine dining and wines, gardening, house renovations, traveling, woodworking, stained glass, tax preparation, and cats. So many cats.
We lost Louise to pancreatic cancer on July 9th, 2025, after a brutal few months, lightened by Arlyn’s devoted care. Far too soon. But she will long be remembered for bringing such warmth, love, energy, and generosity into our lives.
Donations in honour of Louise can be made to the ACLU, Médecins San Frontières, Heifer International, or the U.S. National Parks Foundation.
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