Laird C. Robbins

Laird C. Robbins

AGE: 68 • Wilmington

Laird Carey Robbins died Saturday, December 19, 2015, six years after being diagnosed with throat cancer.

The oldest child of Willard Laird and Kathryn Birch Robbins, Laird was born in Wilmington, DE. He was a 1965 graduate of Brandywine High School and a 1969 graduate of Widener University. He served active duty in the U. S, Army from 1969 to 1971 and in the U. S. Army Reserve from 1971 to 1975. Afterward, he earned an MBA degree in International Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

His career enabled him to travel to Europe, Asia, South America and Africa where he spent a year in Nigeria, after which he settled in Webster, NY, where his daughters were born, and where he worked for Bausch & Lomb. Laird was an active volunteer in his community, coaching youth sports teams, consulting with Junior Achievement, and filling his days with his family and friends. He was a lifelong sports fan, particularly of the Phillies and Eagles, although the Buffalo Bills grabbed his allegiance while he lived in upstate New York.

Laird was a dedicated and involved father and an amiable, enthusiastic friend. His calendar was filled with information about the birthdays of everyone he knew. He certainly preferred face-to-face contact to social media. Although he was a world traveler, his favorite places were Pocono Lake Preserve and Ocean City, NJ, which he tried to visit every summer of his life.

Predeceased by his father in 2001, Laird spent the next 15 years living with and caring for his mother, Kathryn, who survives him.

He is also survived by his older daughter, Lindsay C. Crawford and her husband Michael, his younger daughter, Kristen R. Schmidl, her husband, David J. Schmidl, and their daughter Emilia Carey Schmidl.

He also is survived by his sister Kathy L. Robbins and her wife Barbara J. Sweeney; his brother Robert S. Robbins, Rob's wife Alexandra; his nieces Caitlin Robbins and Abigail Robbins and his great-niece Nia Robbins. He is also survived by his close first cousin, Jim Harper, Jim's wife Annette and their children Hadley, Jamie, and Alex; and last, but not least, his cat, Chester.

Friends and family are invited to visit McCrery & Harra Funeral Home, 3924 Concord Pike (Route 202, south of Silverside Rd.) on Tuesday, December 29, 2015 from 11 am to 12:00 pm., where a service in thanksgiving for Laird's life will be held at 12 noon. Interment at Silverbrook Cemetery will follow immediately after.

The family wants to thank all of Laird's caregivers for the past 6 years and for the many friends who took time to visit him during his illness.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests honoring the memory of Laird C. Robbins by sending a donation to the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care (where Laird had been treated), 4701 Ogletown Stanton Road, Newark, DE 19713. Messages of condolence may be sent to www.mccreryandharra.com