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BORN
1942
DIED
2018
William Laitinen Obituary
- - August 21, 1942 - January 1, 2018 It is hard to find any better than our Dad, Bill Laitinen, who passed away January 1st after a long battle with cancer. Bill was as smart as they come. He was top of his class in the Michigan State University Accounting and Business Schools and attended Harvard Law School. He worked for 38 years at General Motors as a tax attorney, which took him all over the world, including a number of years living with his family in Zurich Switzerland. He had a quiet strength, deep faith, and tremendous love for his family, starting with his wife of 53 years and best friend for many more, Betty. He also enjoyed watching and playing most sports, and especially anything involving Michigan State, and would have been pleased to know that the Spartans basketball team is ranked number 1 at the time of his passing. We feel blessed for many things, including the chance for all of his kids, Curt, Chip and Sarah to spend time with him and Betty over the past couple of weeks, sharing stories, reminiscing, and saying goodbye. He is also survived by 7 beautiful grandchildren. He will be greatly missed. There will be a funeral service on Sunday, January 14, 2018 at the Spirit of Grace Church, 2399 Figa Ave, West Bloomfield Township, MI 48324. The visitation will begin at 12:30pm and the service will be at 1:30pm. www.mccabefuneral home.com
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Memories and Condolences
for William Laitinen
5 Entries
Tom Walton
December 30, 2022
I´ll never forget all the moments I, a GM economist, shared with this wonderfully gifted head of the company´s tax staff and not just the discussions of tax policy issues. He was much more than that, with a kind and caring heart and a wonderful, droll sense of humor and gracious, solicitous manner, especially at the offsites in Orlando.
October 20, 2018
I knew Bill as a GM economist who worked with/for him (dotted line basis) on US and international tax policy issues. I also knew him as a warm and gracious person, with a wonderful sense of humor and appreciation for my work and the importance of economic analysis of these issues. I especially remember all those times at the GM executive conferences in Orlando just enjoying the fireworks at Epcot Center while talking about life in general. He was, indeed, a very special, inspirational person and I think of him often.
Tom Walton
Richard Silver
May 29, 2018
I met Bill when I joined GM in Detroit in 1980. I knew and worked with and for Bill as a tax attorney while at GM in Zurich from 1988-1990. I grew to respect and admire Bill during that time. I have many personal and professional memories of Bill. He was a prince of a man.
Always remembering happy times.
Lydia and David Scott
January 8, 2018
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January 5, 2018
I knew Bill both professionally and personally. He was a "class act" all the way. We shared many rounds of golf and he showed the same focus, attention to detail and excellence on the course as he did in his professional life. Our time together at the Zurich headquarters of GM Europe was special as our families cruised the slopes of Austria and Switzerland. His warm smile and engaging manner will be missed.
Tom and Shirley fogarty
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