William Albrecht Laughlin

DR. WILLIAM A. LAUGHLIN 1926 - 2022
William A. Laughlin, D.D.S., a veteran of the United States Navy and a graduate of Stanford University as part of the G.I. Bill, died peacefully on December 22, 2022. He was 96.
Bill was affectionately dubbed "Scientific Sam" by his four siblings--Barbara, Nancy, Tom ("Lizard") and Robert ("Rabbit") --for his lifelong fascination with a world he viewed as God's own intricate work of art. That fascination fueled a long and successful academic career, which included four graduate degrees and informed a lifetime of reading, wide-ranging hobbies, and adventures. Bill could hold an informed discourse on everything from astrophysics to honeybees. "What little he didn't know," says his wife of 62 years, Sandra, "he just made up, and spoke so convincingly that no one knew the difference."
"Growing up, Dad was always the person my friends would seek out when they were stumped about anything," says his son, Will, "to the point that they would routinely say, 'ask Will, his dad's an orthodontist.' Dad is what we had before the internet."
Bill was a perfectionist in his work as an orthodontist, teaching at the University of the Pacific Dental School, pioneering several orthodontic technologies, and traveling to Europe to teach other dental professionals. He was also a perfectionist in his personal life, not finding love until he was 34 when he met professional model and beauty queen, Sandra Clinton Stahl, on a double date. Sandra was the other guy's date, but that did not deter Bill. Only six months later, Bill said "yes" when Sandra asked him to ask her to marry him. While Bill was proud to have such a beautiful wife, what he most admired was Sandra's intelligence, fierce courage and joie de vivre. Bill smiled and chuckled lovingly whenever Sandra teased him, which was all the time.
A magician from a young age, Bill was "Albrecht the Great" when performing his illusions and was proud of his skillful prestidigitation. "I was his magic assistant," recalls his daughter, Tamara, "until he asked me to put my head in a box he planned to run through with swords! Dad encouraged me to study science at a time girls weren't doing that. We even made gunpowder together for a school project so it would explode-we'd be arrested for that now! He loved explosions and fireworks."
But while Bill's head was captivated by science, his heart belonged, perhaps in equal parts, to his God and his wife. Bill sang in various choirs over the decades, touring Europe and even recording albums as a chorister. It was clear to those who knew Bill well that his baritone singing was a deeply felt expression of his spirit, a form of prayer and praise to a God he loved. He constantly sang and hummed and, even deep into his journey with Alzheimer's, could often be seen tapping his fingers or nodding his head to music only he, and God, could hear.
Bill is predeceased by his beloved parents, Alyce Dingley and Thomas T. Laughlin, and his siblings, Barbara, Nancy and Dr. Tom Laughlin, Jr.
He is survived by his wife, Sandra, and children: Tamara and husband Ryan Ledwith of Darien, CT; William A. Laughlin Jr. and wife Beth of Rumney, NH; Scott and wife Ingrid of Spartanburg, NC. He is also survived by five adoring grandchildren, one great-grandson, and his brother, Robert and wife Susan of Santa Barbara, CA.
Memorial Service will be January 21, 2023 at 11:00 AM at the First Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
J.C. Kirby & Son Lovers Lane Chapel have been entrusted with arrangements.
Expressions of sympathy may be made to Mount Hermon Conference Center: https://www.mounthermon.org/give/