Gerald ‘Bud? Laidlaw spent the majority of his life helping Oxford’s youth any way he could from coaching to fund-raising to tutoring them in reading.
‘I don’t know if there’s any more diligent supporter of the Oxford Area Community Schools and of the community itself than Bud Laidlaw,? said former Superintendent Dr. Mark Orchard. ‘That’s where his heart was.?
Sadly, Laidlaw, a lifelong Oxford resident, passed away Thursday, Feb. 28 at his Tanview home following a long battle with lung cancer, which diminished his body, but never his spirit or well-known sense of humor. He was 74.
‘His main goal in life was to work hard for the kids in the community,? said Joan, his beloved wife of 49 years. ‘He didn’t want any gratitude. He didn’t want to be in the limelight. He just loved people and wanted to please them.?
Ultimately, Laidlaw was recognized for his work by the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce when he received the ‘Adult Youth Volunteer of the Year? award in 2000.
Little League Days
For 35 years, Laidlaw’s name was synonymous with little league baseball in Oxford.
‘He just loved it,? Joan said.
The 1951 Oxford High School graduate, who grew up on Moyer Street, began his coaching career as a teenager by gathering neighborhood children in the village for baseball games. Nothing formal or organized, just kids having fun and playing in a cow pasture over on Pontiac St.
‘He was always the coach,? Joan said.
Larry Allen, who played for Laidlaw around 1948-49, recalled the time the team completed a triple play, a rarity in baseball.
‘Bud was so proud of it. He was more proud of it than the guys that played,? he said. ‘He’d still bring that up quite often when we’d get together.?
Allen noted that Laidlaw was a ‘good all-around athlete? who played basketball, baseball and football in high school.
‘He loved the competition,? he said. ‘He hated to lose.?
Shortly after fellow resident Charles Curtis founded the ‘Oxford Midget League? in 1953 (predecessor to today’s Oxford Recreational Baseball Association), he asked Laidlaw to coach. ‘The team had not won a game until Bud took over, then they won every game after that,? Joan said.
Over the years, Laidlaw held many positions with the league from coach to president to equipment manager.
Chris Curtis, who played for Laidlaw in the early-to-mid 1970s, said he was the most respected coach in local little league.
‘If you wanted to win, you wanted to be on his team because he was going to teach you all the fundamentals and prepare you to play baseball the right way,? Curtis said.
Curtis said the ‘easygoing, friendly? Laidlaw really cared about each of his players and gave them the ‘will to win? by teaching the value of hard work, the importance of practicing until they got it right and above all, to always play by the rules.
‘To this day, some of the values that we learned on the baseball diamond in terms of work ethic, I still carry those into the work world with my career,? he said.
His players meant so much to him that Laidlaw even cut short his honeymoon in New York. ‘We had to rush back because he had a very important little league baseball game to coach,? Joan recalled.
Wildcat Booster
Laidlaw was well-known and appreciated for his involvement in the former Oxford Wildcat Booster Club, of which he was a life member and treasurer for several years.
‘To my knowledge, I can’t remember him ever missing a meeting,? Joan said.
From working the concession stand at sporting events to selling raffle tickets, Joan said her husband did ‘whatever he could to raise money for things? the student athletes needed. One of his proudest moments with the Boosters was when they raised enough money to purchase a scoreboard and dugouts for the high school baseball program.
Orchard praised Laidlaw for his consistent devotion to the kids.
‘He was one of these kind of guys that you could always depend upon,? he said. ‘Some people in life, they’re in and out, but this guy, he said he’d be there, he’d be there.?
Community volunteer
Outside of the Booster Club, Laidlaw was involved with the former Oxford/Lake Orion Optimist Club (distinguished past president and lieutenant governor), the Oxford Lions Club and Meals on Wheels.
He also found time to help Oxford sixth and seventh-graders develop their reading skills by tutoring them one-on-one for one hour a week for three years.
‘Bud was great at that. He helped an awful lot of kids,? said OMS Math Teacher Robert Segula, who ran the now-defunct program that matched kids who had low reading ability with senior citizens and retirees from the community. ‘Bud was always there every week,? Segula noted. ‘It didn’t matter if there was a snow storm, he showed up.?
‘He was just a fine, upstanding mentor for children in the school system,? Segula added. ‘He wasn’t looking for a pat on the back or anything. He just did it out of the goodness of his heart. He was a great man.?
Funny Guy
Laidlaw is perhaps best remembered for bringing joy to whomever he met with his legendary sense of humor.
‘He loved to tell jokes and hear a good joke,? Joan said. ‘He brought much happiness to people who knew him.?
‘He was a card,? Allen said.
Marsha Chapman, an English teacher at OHS, described Laidlaw as an ‘avid conversationalist? and ‘easy laugher.?
‘When he laughed, it was with great genuineness,? she said. ‘He was a dear pal who will be sorely missed.?
Family Man
When he wasn’t giving of his time or walking, Laidlaw divided his time between job and family. For 32 years, he worked at General Motors Pontiac Motor Division, where he started out an office clerk and ended his career as a supervisor.
At home, Laidlaw was busy raising and loving his six children. Family was always the most important thing to Laidlaw.
‘We were the love of his life and he sure was the love of mine,? said Joan, noting the couple eloped in Commerce Twp. two months after her mother introduced them.
Former Oxford teacher and basketball coach Walt Studinger said it was Laidlaw’s son, Steve, who gave the most fitting tribute to his father’s legacy.
Steve coaches the OHS boys basketball team, which played its last game Feb. 27, just hours before Laidlaw died. Despite knowing his father was near the end, Studinger said Steve was ‘intense and energetic the entire game, and supportive of his kids.?
Although the team lost to Clarkston and only won five games the entire season, afterwards Steve told his players ‘how much he enjoyed the season and that it gave him comfort to work with such a fine group of young men.?
‘He let each senior know personally how much he respected their effort, their attitude, their improvement and most importantly their character,? Studinger said. Several days prior to that last game, Laidlaw had urged Steve to ‘tell the boys to find a way to win.?
‘As his dad had suggested, Steve found a way to let his players know that they had won even in defeat,? Studinger said. ‘Bud had taught Steve his final lesson.?
Laidlaw is survived by his wife Joan and children William (Phyllis) Laidlaw, of Hadley; David (Angela) Laidlaw, of Portland, MI; Steven (Kathryn) Laidlaw, of Oxford; Kay (Timothy) Ismond, of Petosky; Christopher Laidlaw, of Texas; and Kathleen (Timothy) Stull, of Oxford.
He’s also survived by 15 grandchildren, 2 step-grandchildren, six great-granchildren, sisters Reva (Freddie) Brown, Edna Mae (Richard) Cadotte and Ella June (Duane) Clark, and many loving relatives and dear friends.
Laidlaw is preceded in death by parents William and Sylvia (Adams) Laidlaw, sisters Doris Bates, Donna Clark and Mary Beardsley and brother Wilbur Laidlaw.
Funeral services were held Monday, March 3 at Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors Bossardet Chapel in Oxford. Brian L. Hansen officiated.
Interment at North Oxford Cemetery.
Memorials to American Cancer, Lung Cancer Research or St. Jude’s are appreciated.