Paul LeRoy Laing

On Oct 7th, 2024, Paul LeRoy Laing, 86, passed away from pneumonia. He had been living with an Alzheimer's diagnosis for over ten years and resided at Sunrise Montgomery Village for the past six years. The excellent care provided there made those years very comfortable for Paul and provided his family peace of mind. His wife Kathleen joined him there in 2019, and the two were inseparable until her passing in 2022. Paul was also preceded in death by his parents George and Margaret Laing.

Paul was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and attended Clarion College, where he met Kathleen. After earning a degree in Mathematics, Paul had a brief career teaching math. In 1964, he accepted a position with IBM where he completed a 28 year career; taking on every role imaginable including programmer, manager, sales consultant, marketer, and lab director. His career gave him the opportunity to travel all over the country and live in several states until he and Kathleen settled their young family in Damascus MD.

Paul was a member and lay-leader of the Hyattstown United Methodist Church, where he could be found preaching sermons a few times a year when the Pastor was away. In addition to his church activities, Paul enjoyed photography, restoring furniture, and volunteer community service. He took great pride in being a family man, and even in retirement, he and Kathleen cared for their parents and raised their grandson Christopher. If you visited on a Spring weekend, you might catch him taking care of his yard on Kakae Drive where he'd point out the pachysandras, blooming lilies, azaleas, and any other plantings he'd cultivated that year.

Paul is survived by his daughter Paulene and son George Laing. He is also survived by his three grandsons, Christopher, Evan, and Harris Laing, and by his three great grandchildren Gavin, Travis, and Helena Laing.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions to the Damascus Volunteer Fire Dept. or the Montgomery County Maryland Community Emergency Response Team, both organizations Paul worked with as a community leader and also for years riding atop the fire engine dressed as Santa.

Please sign the family guest book at www.devolfuneralhome.com