Doc (Laird) was perhaps the most amazing human being I've ever known. Anything you have heard or read about Doc is but the tip of the iceberg of his existence. I met Doc a few years before actually making the United States F2B team in 1977. When I did make the team and got to England in 1978, Doc was already there and gave me the "skinny" on what, where, when, and how in short order. He also sensed, I think, my apprehension at being one of the "rookies" on the team, and told me to just let him know what I needed. For the next week, I didn't see Doc anywhere around... until he was needed. He just seemed to appear out of nowhere when there was something that required his attention. Then he would take care of the problem quickly and quietly and disappear again. I soon figured out that Doc was the best kind of manager; there when you needed him, and out of your way when he wasn't needed. He gave the team great freedom to "do the job" without having to be hands-on at every moment.
Over the years Doc and I became great friends. My wife, Marianne, and I would take motorcycle rides down into the area in which Doc and his wife, Marie, lived. We'd always stop in unannounced just to say hi, and on each occasion we were invited to stay the day and hang out with them. We flew 1/2A stunt models in his back yard, and ate constantly. Doc and Marie loved to entertain, and cooking stuff all day was the norm. We'd sample all kinds of neat cuisine, trade war stories from world championship experiences, and listen to Doc tell stories about modeling adventures and also about medical breakthroughs.
It was Doc's storytelling that was my favorite thing; he could keep a room of people spellbound for seemingly hours with his unique and engaging way of weaving a story. Perhaps you have read some of Doc's famed fables that he wrote after each managing stint at a world championships. For the members of the respective teams, the fables were just hilarious, because Doc was able to make fun of the myriad things that the team went through (both good and bad...) and turn them into something very fun to read. The fact that almost everything in the fables was an inside joke about something that happened to, or was caused by, a team member was not apparent to the casual reader. To the teams, those fables were just priceless.
In his later years, Doc would come up to build at my shop very often. He loved the food from my local Chinese restaurant, and would call out of the blue and announce that he was coming up to build and that he would grab lunch for both of us at that restaurant. My favorite memories of those building sessions were, again, the stories he would tell as we glued and sanded parts. I also liked the fact that Doc was open minded about hearing music that was new to him. Everyone who has built models at my shop (and there are a bunch of them...) will tell you that I always have music playing, and it is never pop stuff. Doc especially liked listening to one of my favorites, Jackson Browne.
A couple of years back, Doc showed up at my door with a bunch of boxes that were filled with amazingly light balsa. He didn't make it a big deal, but he said that he knew the balsa would get used by me and my friends in new projects. He didn't tell me he was Ill, but I figured that out pretty quickly. Shortly after that he and Marie sold their beautiful Bucks County home and move down to Philadelphia, where Doc would be very near the hospital and could get daily treatments for his illness.
My son, Robby saw the announcement of Doc's passing on the FAI website. I was stunned, but not surprised. I called Marie to extend condolences from my family, and we spoke for quite a while. She is, obviously, very sad at his passing, but she, like Doc did, takes in life head on. We spoke of all the good times and had some laughs about Doc's many adventures.
I know I will think of Doc often. In retrospect he was one of the most influential people I have ever known. He was a medical genius, and one of the most intelligent people I've ever known, but he was also one of the most warm and friendly people I've ever known as well.
Godspeed, Doc, you will never be forgotten.
Bob Hunt