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The Rev. Joseph H. Laird, 92, died April 1, 2012 at Kindred Healthcare, Havertown. He was born Dec. 7, 1919, in Fort Wayne, IN, son of Joseph S. Laird, PhD, and Marian L. Laird, Dearborn, MI. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1942 with an A.B. degree in Chemistry and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society. Subsequently, he graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary, M.Div., in 1953. Following graduation from Harvard, he worked for Dow Chemical Co., Ludington, MI, as a laboratory chemist. From 1944 to 1946 he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as an industrial inspector for the Tennessee Eastman Corp., enriching uranium for one of the atomic bombs exploded over Japan. In 1946, he went as a radiation monitor with a task force to Bikini atoll for two atomic-bomb tests. He married Shirley Jean Eder, daughter of the Rev. Dr. & Mrs. Charles Eder. Dr. Eder was rector of Grace Epiphany Church, Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. Joe Laird worked for Pennwalt Co. in market research until matriculation at Virginia Theological Seminary. Following graduation from seminary, he served as curate for the Rev. Dr. Thorne Sparkman at the Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr, then for eight years was vicar of St. Mark’s, Honey Brook, and St. Mary’s Warwick, PA. After that he became director of the Denbigh Conference Center of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, Radnor. Subsequently, he served as systems designer for CIGNA. Meanwhile, he continued in the ministry, working on Sundays for Main Line Episcopal churches. After retirement from CIGNA, he continued to supply services when needed, including monthly services at Devon Manor and Quadrangle. He was a member of St. David’s Episcopal Church, Radnor, the Phi Beta Kappa Assn., the Harvard Club, the Merion Cricket Club, and the Union League, where he served as Fleet Captain of the Yacht Club, as well as approximately 24 cultural and preservation organizations in Philadelphia and suburbs. His hobbies included traveling, skiing, sailing, bicycling, dancing, theater, literature, and speaking French. In addition to his beloved wife Shirley, he is survived by his children Craig E. Laird, on the faculty of Drexel University; Holly A. Laird, on the faculty of the University of Tulsa; and Heather Laird Beaudry, clinical psychologist, as well as eight grandchildren and a great grandson. His memorial service will take place in the Chapel of St. David’s Episcopal Church, 763 South Valley Forge Rd., Wayne, PA 19087 at 11:00 am, Saturday, April 7. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested for the Dolphins of Delaware Valley, P.O. Box 175 Wayne, PA 19087, an organization which has been creating friendships with the elderly since 1978 and on whose board he served for approximately twenty years. 610-649-5594 or www.dolphisofdelawarevalley.org.

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Reverend Joseph H. Laird