Carolyn Ann (DuMond) Laird

Beloved wife, mother, and friend, Carolyn was born on December 14, 1931, to parents Frank Lee and Margaret Claire (Thomas) DuMond. She went home to be with her Lord and Savior, July 2, 2023, at 91 years old. Predeceasing her were her parents and brothers, Robert Lee and David Lloyd DuMond. Surviving her are her husband, Robert B. Laird; daughters, Lucy and Kim; sister, Marion Denison, and nieces and nephews.

Her parents were both naturalists and were active in museum and community activities, giving her a life-long love of nature, animals, and community service. She helped raise orphaned animals like skunks, possums, bunnies, fawns, and a duckling named Julius. Her dogs and cats were beloved family members.

She attended Breton Downs School, East Grand Rapids High School, and Western Michigan University, achieving her BA and Master's in elementary education. She met her husband Bob at 16 years old and married her high school sweetheart and love of her life on August 22, 1953. This August would’ve been their 70th anniversary. Carolyn worked at Elementary Schools for 17 years including, EGR Elementary, Frybarger School (TX), as well as schools in Kalamazoo, Climax-Scotts, and Portage, MI. She was also church secretary for Grace Baptist Church in Portage for 10 years. After retiring from the church, she joined FEMA as an Applicant Assistant working in natural disaster relief all over the USA, from Florida (Katrina) to Texas. She loved helping people, this was a lifetime passion.

She also worked with Bible Study Fellowship as a leader, volunteered with Vacation Bible School, participated in the then, brand new quilters group in Portage. She was also a member of the local genealogy group and sang in church choir and played piano for choir for many years. She also played guitar, auto harp, and Celtic harp.

She retired for the last time just before turning 78 years of age, and promptly continued her genealogy history work and began distributing collections of family history to relevant family branches. She began genealogy work at 14 years old, working with her father who was the Museum Director of the Grand Rapids Museum, so this was the culmination of two lifetimes of work on genealogy history into the DuMond family and all its branches. She had the best stories.

She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Alpha Chi Omega, and Calvary Bible Church. Carolyn was also a member of Clan Elliot, the Kalamazoo Caledonians, and was a lifetime member of Clan Stewart Society in America.

Two favorite verses were "Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalms 27:14.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." John 14:1-3.  We will miss her deeply, but she no longer has to wait, and is in heaven with Him and is safe and whole.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to either Calvary Bible Church (https://calvarybible.org/give), Grand Rapids Public Museum (https://grpm.org/submitdonation), Western Michigan University (https://wmualumni.org/alumni-portal/alumni-resources/ways-to-give) or to your local animal rescue.

There will be no funeral or memorial service. Arrangements entrusted to Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services 411 E Centre Ave. Portage, MI 49002.