William "Bill" Chalmers Baird Jr.

He would describe his childhood in McKeesport as relatively bland. There was a distinct lack of athletic ability but interestingly a gift of rhythm, which made him an excellent dancer. Thus, rather than pursue fame on the gridiron he pursued the fair maidens while playing lead trombone in the school band. "Better to surround oneself with nice smelling lasses than roll around in the dirt with foul smelling swine."

After graduating high school in McKeesport, he enrolled at Penn State University to study pre- med which changed into chemistry as time went by. Upon completing his undergraduate studies with a BS in Chemistry, he desired to see more of America, so he packed a bag and went to lowa. Upon discovering the midwest, he enrolled in a PhD program in chemistry at the University of lowa. During these times of focused study, he was a member of the only fraternity on campus, which was allowed to have a bar. This accessory led to far more interest from the co-eds than the typical chemistry student would have deserved. It was through this confluence of events he met Christie Heritage, and the die was cast for his future life. After completing his PhD at lowa he did a year of post-graduate study in Zurich, Switzerland where he learned some physics while skiing. In a nutshell, when chemistry nerd hits a tree, leg bones will break. Proof of the aforementioned lack of athletic ability

He and Christie married in 1961 and traveled to Baton Rouge, La. to do research at LSU. After a year, he took a job with ESSO (Standard Oil) in their research arm. This led to a role with the Exxon Research and Development Lab which brought him back to Baton Rouge for a "temporary' assignment which lasted 39½ years. His time with Exxon led to 82 United States patents, numerous publications in the American Chemical Society journal, and the recruitment of 25 chemists from the likes of Stanford, Cal-Berkeley and Penn State.

Bill and Christie blessed the world with two amazing children. Whitney arrived in 1967 and Bill (aka Boy) arrived in 1969. Bill's Scottish stoicism, acerbic wit and high intelligence made him a force to be reckoned with as a parent. He was known for his calm, unemotional approach to issues which when mixed with teenage angst could generate explosions to mirror the atomic bomb from the youth in the household. Perhaps his greatest role, which no one would have seen coming, was his role as Papa to his granddaughter Rowan (Ole Miss 2020) and grandson Jackson (Ole Miss 2025). Those who knew him well had no idea how much he would take to the role of Papa. Rowan and Jackson were the apples of his eye and his greatest pride lay in their successes.

Bill is survived by Christie, his wife of 62 years, daughter Whitney, son Dr. Bill Baird (Rhonda) and his grandchildren Rowan and Jackson.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Jude Children's Hospital or the charity of your choice. The family will have a private celebration of life at a later date.