Janet Laird

A memorial service for Janet Laird, 68, of Hebron, will be held at 5:30 p. m. , Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Dickinson with Pastor Donavon Kack officiating. Janet passed away Sunday, January 3, 2016 in CHI St. Joseph’s Hospital in Dickinson. Janet was born December 14, 1947 in Chickamauga, Georgia, the only child of Theodore and Esther (Krafft) Gordon. After several moves, the family settled in Augusta, Georgia, while Janet was still quite young. Janet grew up loving the water and her passion was going swimming almost every day. Although Janet was an avid cat lover, having had cats since the age of 3, she did have one special dog, a collie-fox mix, whom she dearly loved. Another passion was a love of the piano, beginning lessons at the age of 6. Janet practiced every day and one of her highlights was performing all three movements of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata as a recital piece at age 15. Soon after, Janet decided to start giving piano lessons, starting out with 2 or 3 students. Over the years, she has had as many as 60 students at one time. Janet married Benjamin Albert (Jerry) Laird on July 2, 1966. Jerry obtained a job as an office manager with a boiler plant company. As the company built plants all over the country, this caused Janet and Jerry to move to 41 states in 17 years. The length of individual jobs ranged from one week to three years. In addition to teaching piano during this time, Janet learned to do crafts and especially enjoyed ceramics and macramé. In the early 1980s, Janet earned a computer degree from Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas. In 1983, Janet and Jerry finally settled down in Hebron, ND. Over the years, Janet has had a positive influence on her piano students. She encouraged them, taught them music theory, and tried to instill in them a love for music, especially classical and religious music. She will be sorely missed by the many who knew her. Janet is survived by her special friend, Debbie Olive of Gladstone. She is preceded in death by her parents, Theodore and Esther Gordon; and husband, Benjamin (Jerry) Laird. Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at www. stevensonfuneralhome. com.


Burial Date: January 6, 2016

Memorial Service: Wednesday: Seventh Day Adventist Church, Dickinson, ND