Obituary of Lisa M. Lefort

Lisa Michelle LeFort was born October 7, 1970 to David and Joanne LeFort in Corpus Christi, TX. As the child of a naval officer, she moved frequently but spent most of her childhood in Florida. In 1988, Lisa graduated from Orange Park High School in Orange Park, FL with high academic honors, ranking 6th in a class of over 650 students. After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in American Studies, Lisa married Christopher Radlinski and moved to Minneapolis. She began a long and successful career in information technology, specializing in database design and applications. Lisa worked for some of the biggest companies in the Twin Cities and beyond, developing a stellar reputation for technical skill and rigorous professionalism. After many years working for others, Lisa co-founded her own business intelligence consulting firm, Birch Analytics, offering data analysis services to big clients around the country. Lisa was a voracious reader with a brilliant mind. Though she did not study computer science in college, she quickly mastered the technical skills needed to build and maintain large enterprise database systems. Within five years of starting her IT career, Lisa had joined Oracle Corporation's elite team of data warehousing consultants. From there, Lisa's expertise widened and deepened. She worked as a database administrator, application developer, data warehouse architect, and Oracle Business Intelligence expert. Throughout her career, Lisa mentored others, teaching technical classes she created and providing career opportunities to her employees. Lisa was a talented chef. She enjoyed collecting and trying new recipes, frequently improving them with her own vast gastronomical knowledge. Lisa was an avid aficionado of the Twin Cities' restaurant scene. Whatever the occasion, Lisa always had the perfect restaurant recommendation. She had a strong commitment to sustainable agriculture and the farm-to-table ethos. Lisa insisted on only the highest quality foods and took great pride in serving her very best edible creations to friends and loved ones. Lisa had a diverse range of interests. In college, she studied comparative American religion. Lisa was fascinated by the diversity of religious thought in American Protestantism and its effects on history and culture. Lisa also had a deep interest in health and the human body. This interest neatly blended into her culinary talents, allowing her to combine her cooking skills with her extensive knowledge of nutrition. Lisa loved animals. Over the years, Lisa cared for a menagerie of pets including Earnest, the rabbit she had in college, two green iguanas, and several cats. She loved them all and took great comfort in their company. Lisa was a firm believer in the humane treatment of all animals, including farm and research animals. This is reflected in the list of memorial charities. Lisa is survived by her devoted husband of 25 years, Christopher Radlinski. He misses her terribly. Lisa is also survived by her parents, her grandmother Janet LeFort, and numerous friends and extended family. Her unexpected loss from heart failure on September 10, 2017, is a horrible shock to all who were fortunate enough to know her. The world is a dimmer place without her. Memorial service Saturday, September 23, at 11am at Cremation Society of Minnesota, 7835 Brooklyn Blvd, Brooklyn Park, MN 55445 (763) 560-3100. Visitation at 10:30am. Memorials in memory of Lisa are preferred to: The Food Group https://thefoodgroupmn.org/ MN Spay and Neuter Assistance Program http://mnsnap.org/ Animal Humane Society https://animalhumanesociety.org/ Global Fund for Women https://www.globalfundforwomen.org/ American Anti-Vivisection Society http://aavs.org/ Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota https://www.wrcmn.org/ National Anti-Vivisection Society https://www.navs.org/ Animal Legal Defense Fund http://aldf.org/ ASPCA https://www.aspca.org/ Alley Cat Allies https://www.alleycat.org/ APOPO https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/herorats/ Humane Farming Association http://www.hfa.org/