Dr. Gregory Alan Ladd

Dr. Gregory Alan Ladd, 79, of Irmo, South Carolina, passed away peacefully at home on Monday, November 24, surrounded by love. He was born on September 9, 1946, in Decatur, Indiana, to Rolland and Mary Edith Ladd.

Greg is survived by his brother, Bob (Becky) Ladd, as well as his loyal dog and best friend, Lexie Grace. He is lovingly remembered by his five children - Nicole (Lance) Dowden of Indianapolis, IN; Michael (Agatha) Ladd of Los Angeles, CA; Lynzie (Ciprian) Toma of Irmo, SC; Erin (Chris) Myers of Prosper, TX; and Joseph Rolland Ladd of Fort Wayne, IN - and their mothers, Carol Wisley and Vicki Ladd.

He was the proud grandfather of Madison Wood; Madalyn Ladd; Natalie Hammond; Tia Brandenberger; Zachary and Kate Dowden; Lucy Ladd; Cayden and Christopher "Rolly" Myers; and Charlotte and Nico Toma.

Greg studied Biology at Ball State University - chirp chirp! - and began his career as a high school teacher and coach, two roles he would regard with fondness for the rest of his life. He later attended Indiana University School of Dentistry and dedicated over 35 years to the profession in both Indiana and Texas. For a majority of those years, he ran multiple successful private practices. His passion for cutting-edge science led him to being an early proponent of TMJ research and treatment as well as sports dentistry, where he was well ahead of his time exploring the connection between bite alignment and head positioning with athletic performance and concussion risk.

He was a complex man of seemingly contradictory interests: An erstwhile distance runner who loved smoking Kools, a brilliant speaker and Toastmasters champion whose forays into the written word were less successful, a rejector of organized religion who lent his ear to any mad prophet off the street, a truth-seeker and a gossip-lover, a mystic explorer of humanity's innermost mysteries who also thought deeply on how to win "The Big Money" betting football or blackjack (alas, answers to these questions eluded him to the very end), a man as equally at peace meditating in silence for hours as he was disappearing down a YouTube rabbit hole, a Yankees fan and a Browns man, a man quick to anger yet quicker to weep tears of unbridled joy when visiting with his loved ones, a hilarious joker who spent the majority of his waking life contemplating "The Big Why," which is to say, "Why are we here?" The answer to which, of course, is to live a life like he lived - a full one. A life of love, loss, big swings, big hits and big misses. A life of seeking, a life of striving, a life of pushing against conformity, of setting out on a path of your own making regardless the cost.

Greg Ladd loved his brother and his ex-wives and his kids and his grandkids and his dogs and everyone else in his sprawling family. He loved being outdoors. He felt closest to God there. Especially with a pup or a kid or a grandkid by his side. He was charming and he was lucky. Dodged a lot of bullets but took his fair share, too. Making it to the age of seventy-nine having lived a life as adventurous as his (many of these adventures are not suitable for public consumption) was a miraculous gift, and his passing on to the next adventure is not a tragedy, but something which he readily embraced in his hard-fought understanding that death is not the end. He is Somewhere Else now, waiting for those of us still here, a smile on his face, trying and failing to blink back gushers of happy tears.

On the same day Greg passed, his brother, Bob, out golfing and unaware of the news, hit a hole-in-one and carded four birdies, as sure a sign that life continues Elsewhere as has ever been communicated to mankind. Houdini himself couldn't send back proof of the afterlife, but Greg Ladd did. Not a bad last trick.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Decatur, Indiana, on June 20, 2026 at Moose Lodge 1311 (time TBD). In keeping with his wishes, he will be cremated, and his family will honor him with a vacation together in his memory - one more adventure, just as he wanted.

Greg's children extend a special thanks to the Toma family for lovingly welcoming him into their home in 2022.