Stuart L. Laird passed away at 5:42 PM on Friday July 14, 2017 at his residence in Clark Lindsey Village.

A memorial gathering to celebrate his life will be held at a later date.

Stuart (Stu-bear) Laird was born on August 6, 1946 in Springfield, Illinois, the only child to parents W. Knowles and Frances G. (Lindley) Laird, they preceded him in death. He is survived by family and friends, whom he held equally dear.

Stuart graduated from Springfield High School, Class of 1964 and from Ottawa University, Class of 1968.

Though Stuart's first passion was for teaching, he later developed what became a lifelong pursuit of social activism and philanthropy. His interests varied from helping disadvantaged children and animals to fighting for social justice and support for social service efforts, with an emphasis on equal rights for the LGBT community. He served on various boards including the ACLU, Champaign County CASA, and ECISSA, to name a few. To know Stuart was to experience frank honesty, open kindness, and generosity at its finest.

Interested parties can make memorial contributions to Champaign County CASA (www.casa4kids.org) or to the Trevor Project (www.thetrevorproject.org).