Friday, April 20, 2012

He was born on August 21, 1945, in San Antonio, TX, to J. Robert and Ofelia Onderdonk Laidlaw. A graduate of The Wardlaw School (‘63), Jim earned his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Maine, Orono, in 1973. He met and married his wife, Judy, during his time in Maine. He moved his family to the Gulf Coast in Florida shortly after, but Somerset County, NJ, has been his home for the past two decades. Jim worked at the Barnes & Noble in Bridgewater for more than ten years.

He was an active member of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Bridgewater. He served on the vestry and as a Eucharistic Minister. A former member of the Log Cabin Gun Club, Warren, NJ, Jim was an exceptional marksman, who enjoyed skeet shooting. He was a card shark par excellence and an avid reader, with science fiction being a particular passion. Music of all genres narrated every aspect of his life. He also loved the outdoors and spent much time with his family at their cabin in the Adirondacks. Lastly, no one will ever be able to match his cheeseburgers on the grill.

Jim, or “Jan,” as only his granddaughter, called him, is also survived by his wife, his mother, and his children. He is also loved and remembered by his sister and his brothers.

The family requests that donations be made to MGH Bladder Cancer Research Fund, Massachusetts General Hospital Development Office, 165 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, in memory of James R. Laidlaw, in lieu of flowers.

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