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Ronald Edward Laird of Farmington Hills passed away early Tuesday morning July 27, 2021, at age 69.
Born in Highland Park, Michigan the son of Gordon and Doris Laird.
Beloved husband of 39 years to Linda; loving father of Sarah (Chris), Emily (Nick), Veronica – verified not adopted (Brandon), Molly (Drake); proud grampy of Kaline, Jax, Cobb, Hops & Porter. Dear brother of Charles (Mary), Gordon (Carol), Terrance (Marta), Timothy (Krista), Lawrence (Giselle), Brian (Sandy), Mary (Russel), Sharon (Ron), Michael, Colleen (Michael). Preceeded by Robert (Dolores). Dear uncle and great uncle to many.
Ron and Linda spent nearly 50 years together making a happy family and insisting Linda do things she didn’t want to do. Going up north camping with his siblings and forcing Linda to stay in a tent with only an outhouse he built was his way of creating unforgettable memories. It never helped that he got car sick every trip up, so Linda was forced to drive. Once his daughters came around, those drives got much louder and created a lot more headaches, but he still insisted those were the best kind of trips.
Family get togethers were always a must, and while Ron liked to play the ‘grumpy man’ role and give everyone a hard time, he was always creating laughs and making people angry at the same time. Ron and Linda hosted many parties together and enjoyed when his daughters started hosting their own. He loved teasing anyone and everyone and once his son-in-laws started coming around, they became his #1 target. Admittedly, they made it very easy for him to do so.
Ron loved talking about his four daughters. When people found out, he always got the question “Four girls?? How did you manage?”. He would smile and say he wouldn’t want it any other way. It was very important that he gave his daughters all kinds of experiences such as starting to ice skate at age three, piano lessons, skiing/snowboarding, riding jet skis, water skiing/wake boarding, traveling around Michigan, visiting grandparents in Florida, building a skating rink in his back yard, and so much more. Watching sports became a father/daughter tradition; hockey, baseball, and football were always on the TV. Many Sundays were spent watching football all day long. Unfortunately, Ron passed his love for the Lions down to his daughters, who now carry the tradition of disappointment only the Lions can create.
Ron had a particular love for golf. He loved his golf trips with his brothers and brother-in-laws, then teaching his daughters and later on, son-in-laws. Ron was extremely proud to have two of his daughters play collegiate golf. Golfing up north was always a must, and he got to visit some of his favorite courses and share the experience with his wife and daughters. Golfing in a couples league with his wife, daughters, son-in-laws, brothers, sisters-in-laws, nieces and nephews brought him so much happiness.
Beyond experiences, it was important for Ron to instill a work ethic in his daughters to make them well rounded, independent individuals. While at the time, they may not have been super appreciative, they can look back and think that must have been why he made them clean the garage every other week, or why he had yards and yards of dirt delivered just for them to move it around the yard. It became a Saturday tradition for Ron to yell “girls time to get up, we have things to do!” While it usually took a few calls and then him making his way up the stairs, only for them to act surprised and say they didn’t hear him. Linda always liked to remind him of this when he would sleep in on Saturdays.
Ron was a handy man who could fix anything and had a strong business mind. He taught so many of his skills to his daughters and son-in-laws, which helped so much when they started buying their own houses. Whether it was learning to build headers and hanging dry wall, changing the brakes on their cars, or teaching the best way to make a long island iced tea, he was there guiding the way and making his suggestions (sometimes creating more work in the process). Ron was always the first call for advice about work and homes and husbands, he always knew the right thing to say.
Family was everything to Ron and he lived his life making sure his wife and daughters were always there for each other and would always take care of each other. No matter how much he struggled, he never wanted his family to worry about him. He was their rock, the calm reasonable one in a house full of crazy. No matter what happens in the future, he will always know that his importance in family has been deeply instilled in them and he never has to worry about his five girls. They will continue to carry his love with them and be there for each other no matter what, just as he taught them.
The Laird family will receive friends Friday, July 30, 2-7pm at the funeral home. A Funeral Service honoring Ron’s life will begin at 7pm.
Memorial donations in memory of Ron may be directed to The Detroit Dog Rescue or an organization of your choice. While Ron acted like his grand pups were annoying, he was always caught playing and petting them when no one was looking. Ron and Linda started their family with their dog Grumpy and later adopted Sandy and Vladdie. Ron was “a dog person”.
Please feel free to leave the family an online condolence.