Services for William "Bill" Rankin Laird, 85, of Livingston, Texas will be held Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at Oak Grove Church of Christ in Livingston, Texas with Hub Whitten officiating. Interment will follow at Center Grove Cemetery in Livingston, Texas. Visitation will be held Friday, October 20, 2023 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the Cochran Funeral Home Chapel in Livingston, Texas.

Bill was born March 3, 1938 in Livingston, Texas and passed away October 15, 2023 in Lufkin, Texas. He is preceded in death by his parents, Robert Weldon Laird and Ruth Rosena (Gassiott) Laird; wife Matilda "Butch" Laird; sister, Bobbie Ruth Shumacher and husband Bill; sister, Margaret Ann Laird; brother, Archie Laird and wife Ellen; twin brother, Jack Laird; grandson, Landon Laird; and granddaughter, Kendal Laird Martin.

He is survived by his sons; Robert Laird and wife Cookie, Darrell Laird and wife Shelia, Alvin Laird and wife Andrea, Mike Laird, and Jack Laird and wife Pam, all of Livingston, Texas; daughters Sally Butler and husband Mike and April Bower and husband Harold, all of Livingston, Texas; brother, Weldon Laird and wife Marcelle of Lubbock, Texas; grandchildren, Robert Laird Jr., Nicki Blankenship and husband Michael, Matthew Diviak, Stacey Owens, AJ Laird, Steven Laird and wife Kali Jo, Jennifer Wallace and husband Jason, Jacob Bickford and wife Priscilla, Justin Bickford and wife Brittany, Rooster Laird and wife Allison, Olivia Laird, Chassity Armstrong and husband Jacob, Brittany Lowery, Amber Johnson and husband Timothy, Andrew Laird, Craig Wiggins, Paul Wiggins, Ashley Jehnzen and husband Dustin, Heather Hughes, Stephen Smith and wife Shelbey, Jake Bower, Luke Bower, Haley Monteaux and husband Jimmy; and 38 great grandchildren; along with numerous other relatives and friends.

Bill joined the army after he and Butch were married. He was sent to Germany where he was a driver for several generals, most notably he drove for General George Patton's son. He was very proud of that and even told a few stories about the mischief those generals would get up to. After leaving the army Bill worked numerous types of jobs in his lifetime.  He worked at the American Smelting Refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. He worked for several ranches in Texas and Mississippi. The most memorable being the Tigner Ranch in Angleton, Texas and the Porter Ranch in Mississippi. After moving back to Texas and settling in Polk County, Bill and his family worked in the logging industry. He also had a pulpwood yard in Leggett, Texas. He, his wife and sons logged many acres of hardwood and pine forest throughout East Texas. Bill would also go on to build a house for his daughter and construct the church and multipurpose buildings at Oak Grove Church of Christ.

Bill was very active in the church at Oak Grove. He was the song leader for many years. He was also an elder at Oak Grove Church of Christ until the death of his wife. He and his wife Butch worked very hard and spent a lot of time doing work for the church at Oak Grove.

Pallbearers: Robert Laird, Jr., Steven Laird, Rooster Laird, Andrew Laird, Stephen Smith, Jake Bower, Luke Bower, and Justin Bickford

Bill's family would like to thank the nurses at Gentiva Hospice for taking care of their father. With special thanks to Nurse Denise and his "washer woman" Nancy.