LAIRD: It is with great sadness the family of Lyford Oscar Laird announce his passing on September 23, 2011, surrounded by his family at Battlefords Union Hospital, North Battleford, SK. Lyford was born July 2, 1930 at Helena Lake, SK. He is survived by his loving family; his wife of 61 years, Myrtle ; their children and grandchildren: Brenda & Jim Hill and family: Greg (Darlene): Paige & Avery; Chris (Lori): James & Zachary; Lyle & Janet Laird and family: Kim (Rodney) Horrell: Joshua & Jacob; Shana (Chris) Stewart; Chelsey (Jeff) Schwab: Hayden; Keith & Cindy Laird and family: Andrew & Matthew; one brother, Dempsey (Marion) Laird; one sister, Lillian (Clifford) Garrett; nieces, nephews and their families. Lyford was predeceased by his parents, Claud & Annie Laird; brothers: Tunney and Lester; sister, Elsie; and two children: Lester and Cheryl Laird. A Celebration of Life was held Wed, Sept. 28, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. from "The Garden Chapel" ~ Battlefords Funeral Service, North Battleford, SK with The Rev. Peter Norman, St. Paul's Anglican Church, North Battleford, SK officiating. Shared Memories were given by Greg Hill, Chris Hill, Kim Horrell and Shana Stewart with a DVD Tribute. Music Ministry was Organist, Mrs. Doreen Gilles, Soloist, Robert MacKay ~ "Prayer Of St. Francis" and Hymn Selections, "In The Garden" and "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You". The Honourary Pallbearers were "The Grandchildren ~ Greg Hill, Chris Hill, Kim Horrell, Shana Stewart, Chelsey Schwab, Andrew Laird and Matthew Laird and Urn Bearer was Greg Hill. Memorials are requested to The Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation Inc, Box 1358, North Battleford, SK S9A 3L8. Interment took place at Prairie Willows Columbaria, City Cemetery, North Battleford, SK. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Battlefords Funeral Service. 446-4200 SHARED MEMORIES Lyford Oscar Laird was born July 2, 1930 at Helena Lake Saskatchewan to parents Claude and Annie Laird. He was the middle of 6 children: Les, Elsie, Tunney, Lyford, Dempsey and Lillian. He attended school in Midnight Lake, before moving to Glaslyn to work for Mrs. Perry on her dairy farm. He continued to work on the dairy farm till it was sold to Art Woods. Then at the age of 19, Lyford moved to Prince Albert to work in the box factory. It was on a weekend visit back to Glaslyn, that Lyford met the future love of his life, Myrtle Turner. In 1950 Lyford and Myrtle married and moved to North Battleford, where Lyford began his long career as a milkman. He first started with the Dairy Pool, and then moved to the Co-op Creamery, which later became the Dairy Producers. He worked for many years till he retired in 1987 due to health reasons. Lyford and Myrtle had 5 children: Brenda, Lyle and Keith who are all married and are here today. Siblings Lester and Cheryl passed away soon after birth. Lyford and Myrtle now have 7 grandchildren, with spouses and 7 great grandchildren. The Definition of a Grandpa: someone who gives unconditional love, kindness, patience, humour, comfort, lessons in lifeand best of all, friendship. Grandpa Lyford was a son, a brother, a father, a grandfather and the best guy we knew. He would take the shirt off his back for anyone and was always willing to lend a hand. He was always there for usno matter what! We could always go to grandpa and grandma's when we had a disagreement at home and they always made us feel better. We could always stop for visit or call him up on the phone to chateven if it was just about the weather. If we were having a bad day, we could always count on grandpa to tell us a joke. And it didn't matter what you were talking about, you always had his full attention like you were only the only person in the room. As long as his family was happy, Grandpa was happy. So many of our memories of Grandpa involved keeping us busy. Whether it was fishing in the boat, ski-doing, playing cards or baseball in the backyard, or doing puzzles until Grandma turned the lights off, we loved the time we spent with him. All of these memories were happy ones that we will cherish forever. We can all agree that we are the people we are today because grandpa was part of our life. He was so patient and kind and never complained - the Perfect Role Model. He knew everything and was our go-to-guy whenever we had a question. He taught us the ins and the outs of baseball, how to properly bait a hook, what the 5 and 3 meant in Kaiser (even though some of us still haven't picked it up). It wasn't so much what we learned, but how we learned it. And now we have the opportunity to teach it to our kids the same way. Thank you grandpa! Grandpa was so grateful and appreciated everything life had to offereven watching the birds sitting out on the patio. One of his biggest accomplishments was his family - he married his best friend and loved her with his whole heart. His kids, grand kids and their spouses, and great grand kids were so important to him and he was our biggest fan. No matter how big or small our accomplishment, Grandpa was always there with a big pat on the back and a hooray! We were lucky to have him as our grandpa. We hope that we have made him as proud as he has made us. If we all could be half the person he was, this world we would be a better place. We are all here to celebrate Grandpa and the life he lived, but he would not have been the person he was without the love and support of Grandma. We could stand here all day and brag about Grandpa Lyford and we know from the amount of people here today, that he has touched us all. We love you Grandpaand we will miss you very much! ____________________________________________________
