Henry F. Laird, Sr.

Mr. Henry F. Laird, Sr., of Ocean Springs, MS., left this life on March 27, 2007. Henry, who was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. C.R. Laird, was a fourth generation Mississippian born in Carson, Mississippi, in 1920. He was raised in the Long Beach community and after high school joined the Navy to see the world, but after Pearl Harbor, he spent World War II in the Pacific, performing among other services, the operation of landing craft which brought our Marines to battle on far flung islands. He retired from the Navy at the rank of Chief Boatswain's Mate and returned to his native Mississippi, and while the boy had been taken far from the country, the country was never taken from the boy. Henry retired from Litton Industries at Ingall's Shipyard in Pascagoula. He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Florence Hales Laird of Ocean Springs. After the war, they met, fell in love, and married on the island of Guam where Henry was stationed in the Navy and Florence in the Red Cross. Henry is also survived by his son, Henry, Jr. of Pass Christian; daughter, Bertha Laird Morgan of Ocean Springs; son, George of New Orleans; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; brother, Robert Laird of Gulfport; sister, Elizabeth Laird of New Orleans; and sister, Grace Ferris of Las Vegas, Nevada. Henry was a devoted and loving husband and caring father, a voracious reader, naturalist, consummate fisherman, gardener, and avid apiarist. His family and friends grieve his loss as do his plants and bees. Trout and redfish, however, rest easier. Family and friends are invited to attend a service in Henry's memory on Saturday, March 31, 2007, at 2:00 P.M. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ocean Springs with a prior visitation beginning at 1:30 P.M. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to St. John's Episcopal Church, 705 Rayburn Avenue, Ocean Springs, MS., 39564, or to the American Cancer Society, 417 Security Square, Gulfport, MS., 39507. The Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.