John E Laird

LAIRD, John E., age 73 of Kettering, passed away Thursday February 16, 2017. He is survived by his son, John E. (Robyn) Laird II; daughter, Amy (Tim) Williams; grandchildren, Alan Gross, Taylor Williams, Autumn Laird, and Austin Laird; step-grandchild, TJ (Jillian) Williams; step-great-grandchildren, Mason and Mila; sister, Sharlene (Michael) Warner; brother, Kevin (Sue) Davis; nephews, Jason and Kyle; nieces, Lauren and Allison. John was an avid photographer with many acclaims. One such acclaim was an honorable mention from a national photo contest in 1988 in the Photographer’s Forum Magazine. Another accomplishment was the album cover work he did for bands such as Guided By Voices, Radio Bikini, Jayne Sachs, Salvadore Deli and Brainiac. He was proud and honored to be listed in “Who’s Who in America 2000”. He played guitar in the band Mysterians in high school. John was an artist primarily painting with acrylics. He loved art, photography, music, military related topics, nostalgic items such as toys from the era of his childhood, supernatural phenomenon, local bands, his friends and family. He was very close to his neighbors George and Kim Hevlin and their children and considered them family. John was a Vietnam veteran serving from 1964-1967 following with employment and then retirement from GM. He was a hard worker who never gave up no matter how difficult the situation was. After suffering a stroke that claimed the right (dominant) side of his body he fought for almost 2 years with the hope of returning to his home. The legendary malts he taught his family to make will live on with all of them. A gathering of family and friends will be held on Wednesday February 22, 2017 from 6-8PM at Tobias Funeral Home, 3970 Dayton-Xenia Road, Beavercreek, Ohio 45432