John Ramey Laird

John Laird, born in Ann Arbor to Nancy R. and William M. Laird on July 15, 1923, attended Ann Arbor High School and graduated in 1941. He went on to earn a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Michigan in 1949. John served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945 as a fighter pilot, flying missions off the U.S.S. Ticonderoga in the Pacific Theater. On June 12, 1948, he made the best decision of his life, marrying Margaret (Peggy) Mae Laubengayer. Following the war, he joined his father in the law firm Laird & Laird, practicing in Ann Arbor until 2000.

He was active in many civic and community organizations, including the Ann Arbor City Council, the Ann Arbor Planning Commission, the American Red Cross, and the Rotary Club. He was a founding member of the Huron Valley Swim Club and Commodore of the Huron Portage Yacht Club. He was active in the First Presbyterian Church, serving on the Session and as the church’s attorney, and for many years organizing the church’s fall raking project.

John is preceded in death by his parents and his brother William M. Laird, Jr.

He is survived by his wife, Margaret L. Laird, his brother Joseph I. Laird, his children Mary Laird Duchi (Joseph Duchi), Linda M. Laird (Kathleen Fetissoff), John E. Laird (Ann Alpern), his grandchildren John Duchi (Emily Roberts), Andrew Duchi, Alexander Laird, Adam Laird, Emily Bilek (Eli Bilek), Jessica Laird (Philip Shiu), Valerie Laird, and one great-grandchild Anne Duchi.

He loved playing bridge with his wife Peggy, being a lawyer, sailing on Portage Lake, tending his gardens, attending Michigan football and basketball games, eating chocolate chip cookies and going to the Washtenaw Dairy. But most of all, he was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, cherishing time with his family.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, 1432 Washtenaw, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.