Laird F. Logue, age 89, of Wilmington, Delaware, died on August 2 at Foulk Living in Wilmington, Delaware.
A loving son, husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, he was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on October 17, 1934. He graduated from Henry C. Conrad High School in 1952 and Cornell University in 1956. In 1957, he received his Master’s Degree from Michigan State University, where he met his future wife, Joan Fairgrieve. They were married in 1958 and spent 66 happily married years together.
He was preceded in joining the Lord by his parents, Ralph and Ruth Logue, and his brother, Barry Logue.
Laird and Joan raised four children: Diane Bayer (Bill) of Harrisonburg, Virginia; Valerie Ore (Maury) of Hilton Head, South Carolina; Kathy Smith (Ron) of Townsend, Delaware and Brian Logue (Judy) of Abingdon, Maryland.
He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Andrea Beach (Justin), Brooks Ore (Amanda), Meredith Ore, Emily Logue, Nicholas Logue (Meghan), Andrew Smith (Stacie), Kyle Smith (Casey) and Tyler Smith; and seven great grandchildren: Camden and Turner Beach, Vann Ore and Arianna, Brody, Cayden and Lily Smith.
Family beach vacations to New Jersey, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia were a highlight of his life for more than four decades. He proudly set up his faded, yellow-flowered umbrella first thing in the morning and embarrassed his family with a tattered, cutoff orange Princeton t-shirt that showed off his “handmade” belly.
Sports played an important part of his life as he played baseball and basketball in high school and later enjoyed golf and tennis. He served as a youth baseball and basketball coach and spent over 30 years as a baseball umpire in several leagues. Umpiring was a true passion for him, and he continued officiating games into his 80s, becoming many a pitcher’s best friend with his generous strike zone.
As a professional, following three years of military service in the United States Army, Laird began a career in agriculture, first as a county agricultural agent in Baltimore County, Maryland. He later embarked on a 25-year career with the DuPont Company in the Agricultural Products department as a salesman, district sales manager and finally as manager of administrative services.
He was active in many churches over the years: Babcock Presbyterian Church in Towson, Maryland; First Presbyterian Church in Waynesboro, Virginia; Red Clay Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware and Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Newark, Delaware. He served in a variety of roles, but none gave him more enjoyment than serving as a Sunday School teacher for high school students.
The family will receive visitors on Wednesday, Aug. 7 beginning at 10:30 am at Ebenezer United Methodist Church, 525 Polly Drummond Hill Rd., Newark, Delaware. A memorial service will begin at 11:30 am. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a donation to either the Helen Graham Cancer Center (https://christianacare.org/us/en/make-a-gift) or Wilmington Christian School (https://www.wilmingtonchristian.org/giving.html) in his memory.
For online condolences visit: www.mccreryandharra.com
