"Glyn Laird died… pickup for sale." Glyn Laird, (82), Vietnam Veteran, First Sergeant, Retired Air Force Flight Engineer, retired Cessna and FlightSafety International instructor, loving father, grandfather of 21, great-grandfather of 17, was forever a student and a connoisseur of great jokes, cracking them until the day he left this earth on August 28, 2018. He always joked "when I go, make my obituary short and sweet: "Glyn Laird died, pickup for sale!"
Glyn was born May 9, 1936 in Natchez, Mississippi to Hattie Anita Westbrook and Frederick Fosby Laird. He always described his childhood: "We were 'po'. We were so po, we couldn't even afford the other o-r (of the word poor). When Glyn was 17, he left school, the farm, and Mississippi and joined the Navy. After serving four years, he left the Navy, lasting only a short time in civilian life. He then joined the Air Force, where he served for 23 years, serving a tour of duty in Korea and Vietnam. He was a flight engineer and a flight technician (mechanic). He wanted to fly and learned flying privately. Flying became his true love. When he retired from the Air Force in 1977, he went to college, starting at the age of 40, graduating Summa Cum Laude (BA) and Magna Cum Laude (Master's program) from the University of Southern Mississippi. He completed his BA in two years and his Masters in two years. Upon graduation from Southern Miss, he interviewed with Cessna and was hired as an instructor. Upon retirement from Cessna, he managed to last a month as a man of leisure and went to work for FlightSafety International Aircraft Maintenance Center. He had an amazing knowledge of airplanes, from the cockpit to under the hood. He could fly them or fix them and teach others to do the same. He loved to learn, loved languages, was proficient in Spanish. It was not unusual for a person to be accosted by him in order to practice his Spanish. He especially loved learning mathematics, teaching himself calculus and statistics as a hobby. One of his favorite books was entitled "The Joy of Math". His great-granddaughter, Marie, would roll her eyes and said "Grandpa, there is NO Joy in Math!" To him, there was. He never stopped learning. He also loved teaching which flowed over into "teaching" the family the proper Glyn way of doing things. Any of us who got the joy of helping fix a car late at night, always being the one holding the flashlight, eyes, and flashlight drooping, have these words seared into our memory banks "put the spot right here. If you can't see the spot, I can't either."
Glyn is survived by his wife, Carrol, ex-wife Edna, a combined family of 8 children: Glyn Dale (Sherri) Laird of Anchorage, AK, Ray Laird of Texas, Terry (Tina) Laird of Texas, Susan Laird Mims of Mississippi, Denise Dean Sparacino (Jeff) of Salina, KS, Rhonda (Donald) Romero of Wichita, Jennifer (Tad) Tribue of Wichita and Eric (Sara Burns) Ordway of Iowa. He is also survived by five siblings, Willie Laird, Phillip Laird, Hilda Laird, Joe Laird, and Carolyn Ewing.
Rosary will be held at 6:30pm on Thursday, August 30, 2018 at All Saints Catholic Church, funeral service same location on Friday, August 31 at 11am.
Actually, the opening sentence is a joke too; his pickup is not for sale, it will remain in the family. They don't take pickup trucks in heaven.
