Thomas Morgan Baird Sr

Thomas Morgan Baird, a man with a heart of gold and soft as a teddy bear slipped into the arms of his Lord on July 20, after a brief illness with his family surrounding him. If you didn’t know him well, you would not know this. He was a native Texan born in Houston on 9-18-42 and went to California to live with his parents Walter and Opal Baird when he was a few weeks old. He and his family lived throughout the oil producing areas of the states while his father was employed with GSI (forerunner of TI). When it was time for Thom to enter kindergarten, the family moved to Fort Worth where he lived until he graduated from the Fort Worth schools. He married Sondra Kay Dewey in 1966 and two children were born to this union, Thomas Jr. and Brooke. They were the light of his life and he supported them unconditionally. One of those lights was extinguished in June, 1998 and in his grief he saw to it that Brooke’s legacy lived on with an endowed scholarship at TCU. His motto was, “I can give my children two things: unconditional love and an education.” He endowed them with his generosity for their many passions, financially and emotionally. Thom began working for Lincoln National Life in 1975, attaining “Rookie of the Year” and never questioned his career choice. He earned his CLU designation in 1979. Thom established his own agency, Planning Services, in 1987. He tutored his son in the business for 20 years with ethics that are unsurpassed. He enjoyed politics and was supportive of many candidates. He was proud of their accomplishments referring too many of them as his extended family. In particular, Thom referred to one family’s children as his “pseudo” grandchildren and indulged them. Thank you Laura and John for the pleasure you gave him. Thom was active in the Collin County Republican Party, worked in many campaign and served as a precinct chairman and elections judge. He served on the Collin County grand jury 3 times with a passion, twice serving as foreman. Thom’s love of traveling the world was only surpassed by the planning that went into the endeavor. In a few words, “he lived life large.” He loved taking his grandchildren on trips. He is survived by his wife, Kay, son Tom Jr. and his wife Kelly and 2 wonderful grandchildren, Stephen and Christopher. In addition, he is survived by his sister Ann and her family, and many extended family members. Visitation will be Tuesday evening from 6 until 9pm at the Ted Dickey West Funeral Home. Entombment will be 11am Wednesday at Ridgeview Memorial Park followed by a memorial service at 2pm at the First Christian Church of Plano. A reception will follow the service. His beloved friend and former Pastor Dr. Mike McConachie will officiate. The family suggests remembrances to the Brooke Dewey Baird Scholarship at TCU, 2800 Stadium Dr. TCU Box 297420 Fort Worth, Texas 76129.