12/19/1925 – 11/5/2024
Lawrence
Betty A. Laird died peacefully in her sleep Tuesday morning November 5th at her home in Lawrence. She was 98 years old.
Born in Grand Island, Nebraska, Betty was the only child of Myron (Mike) Olson and Anna Youtsey Olson. She received her BA in Theatre and English from Hastings College in Nebraska where she met and married Roy D. Laird (1925 – 2000). She also attended the University of Nebraska and studied statistics, Russian language, and history at the University of Kansas.
Betty worked as curriculum adviser for the School of Business at the University of Washington in Seattle, taught freshman English at KU, and administered the Polish Program for Russian and East European Studies at KU. Along with her three children, Betty and Roy traveled widely. They lived in Kansas, Nebraska, and on both US coasts, as well as in Scotland, Germany, and Yugoslavia.
Betty was a writer, historian, and actor. She authored/co-authored nine non-fiction books, wrote several articles and book chapters, prepared and published two Clinton Lake maps, a novel, and a book of poems and short stories. She helped found the Clinton Lake Museum and design several of the museum’s exhibits. Betty wrote two historical plays A Song on the Wind and To Catch a Butterfly, which were produced by Theatre Lawrence, and three other full-length plays that had staged readings in Lawrence.
Betty was an accomplished musician, known for her beautiful voice and guitar accompaniment. She sang classic American folk songs, Irish ballads, and songs in Russian, German, Serbian, and Spanish. On countless evenings Betty entertained small intimate gatherings of family and friends in living rooms and around campfires; she also performed in front of large audiences, on stage, at schools, professional conferences, and at civil rights protest marches in the 60’s.
A professional actor for most of her adult life, Betty was cast in numerous industrial films, commercials, movie shorts, and voice-overs; she appeared in stage productions at the Universities of Nebraska and Kansas, and performed with the Fairlington Players in Alexandria, VA and at Theatre Lawrence. A member of the Screen Actors Guild, she was featured in forty-five film and television productions including the Sarah, Plain and Tall series with Glenn Close and Christopher Walken, Gone in the Night with Ed Asner, and Monday After the Miracle with Roma Downey.
Betty lived a life of positivity and generosity. She was always ready to help student families, friends, and others in need; scrounging up furniture, providing financial assistance, and companionship. She supported the things that mattered to her; people, Theatre Lawrence, Lawrence Arts Center, Seem-to-be-Players, Willa Cather Foundation, Clinton Lake Historical Society, Lawrence Community Shelter, KTWU, KCPT, Audubon Society, Lawrence Public Library, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, and the Brandon Woods Employee Recognition Committee (ERC) Fund, which she co-founded.
Betty is survived by her three children Claude Laird (Lawrence), David Laird (Ames, IA), and Heather (Mission, KS), her daughter-in-law Diana, and four grandchildren Myra, Ellen, Larissa, and Martin Laird. The family suggests monetary remembrances to Theatre Lawrence.
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