Maxine Heller

I did not know Laird well, but I remember that he lived in Adelaide, one of my favorite cities in Australia.  I hope his life there was a long and happy one.  I send my condolences to his loved ones, both in Australia and in the United States.

Sincerely,

Maxine Heller

Andrew Yaremko

I  am  very  sad  to  hear  of  Laird's  passing.  We   e-mailed   back  and   forth   for   many  years  up  until  about  a  month  or   two  ago.   We  even  talked  on  the  phone  several  years  ago  to  "catch  up"  on  what  was  happening  in  our  lives.  I  will  miss  him  and  our  discussions.  My  sincere  condolences  to  all  his   family  and   friends.

Tom Allison

It is time that I put in some comments about the passing of good friend Laird Varsaly. 

Laird and I met though cross-country at Allderdice and became friends.  Laird contacted me at some point -- not sure exactly when -- the earliest e-mail that popped up in Yahoo was from November 1, 2008 when he sent me a link to his wife Afsaneh's first novel I Will Not Cry. I have a sense that we were in touch for some time before that -- not sure when our e-mail exchanges started, could have been 5 years or more earlier  -- I think he was using a different e-mail address than the one that was saved in Yahoo, so 2008 was as far back as I could trace our correspondence.  In any case we stayed loosely connected with discussions about his son Jason who was studying medicine (we tried unsuccessfully to organize some long-distance research together), his daughter's wedding in 2010, healthcare industry financing, and deep pre-reunion discussions about working in the steel mills during summers while in college. Laird wrote several interesting pieces including "Blast Furnance 101".  He helped me plan a pre-reunion trip (May 2014) that my older daugther and I took to Australia as her law school graduation present.  As part of a grand tour of the country/continent, we stopped in Adelaide for coffee, dinner with his family, and an interesting tour of an animal sanctuary.  Laird was a long-term listener to my Christmas music blog and made many contributions -- including sharing some recordings like "Aussie Jingle Bells". 

The last e-mail that I got from Laird was in November of 2021.  He had told me about his cancer back in 2020, three years after his diagnosis, and he was feeling pretty optimistic at that time.

Laird, I wish now that I'd been a better correspondant, but I did send you hundreds, probably thousands, of songs over the years which I know you enjoyed.  And we had a great visit together in Adelaide. My daughter and I are talking about a return trip next year or in 2024, God willing and if the fates allow, and I really wish you were still around to have another cup of that good, Italian-roast, Adelaide coffee together.  She (daughter Emily) sends condolences to your family and remembers you well and fondly.

This losing classmates and good friends like Laird is really tough, but it probably isn't going to stop, so giving Laird some recognition for being the smart, friendly guy and good friend that he was is all we can do, I guess.  So long, Laird -- tomorrow's coffee will be drunk in your honor.

Joel Greenberger

Very sad to hear that Laird is gone. My last memmory of him was graduation night.The parties after we received our diplomas at the Civic Arena-we drove to his house and he was on the front porch with family.But the year prior to that was when I got to know him in Doc Wagner's calculus class.He was so good in Calculus as I struggled.I remember that he told me that he didn't have the money to pay for the AP exam and that stuck with me all these years.I took the American History AP exam(scored a 4), the Biology exam(scored a 5 )and Calculus(scored a 2 and got no college credit.fo that mess.)Laird deserved to have taken that AP calculus test as he would have soared.

Allderdice only became  a real mixing bowl for me  that senior year when the Squirrel Hill Jewish kids like me truly realized that we were all united by 1964..Interesting that as I look back I was bonded to the African American kids from other Pgh.public schools through the All Ciy Orchestra  as early as 9th grade but not to the non-Squirrel Hill Allderdice kids  untill senior year. Music has been my constant all these years which continues to produce new friends every year. I .never knew that Laird had been in Australia- I always think of him in that Calculus class..Doc Wagner did not like interrupting his lecture the day that John Kennedy died. The first announcement of the gun shot was during a study-hall in the library -I was sitting next to Harold Goldwasser who in a nervous response uttered "All the way with L.B.J."

By  the 7th period, now sitting  in calculus class, JPF was pronounced dead.

Laird was  sitting next to me at that moment.

Rest in Peace, Laird..

Tom Allison

Nice comment, Joel. I don't mean to divert attention from remembering and honoring Laird, but I will take a few lines to remember my answer to the question "where were you that November Day?"  I was in Robley J. Hackett's AP chemistry class, as were probably 20-25 of my classmates.  Robley had a little work room behind the front desk where he could go to mix chemicals for our lab sessions.  Not sure if we were back in the lab part of the room or maybe sitting in our desks taking a test, but, anyway, he was back in that little room. Sometimes we could faintly hear the radio that he listened to while working there.  On that day he suddenly emerged and announced to the class in his deep, slow, Southern voice (sort of anticipating Fred Gwynn as Judge Chamberlain Haller in My Cousin Vinnie), "My God, the President's been shot" -- maybe not his exact words, but something similar.

Kennedy's assassination was a defining moment for our generation.  A real "loss of innocence" and an event that brings us mentally and emotionally back to Allderdice where we were when it happened.  A number of years ago I wrote a little poem called "November Song" dedicated to events that have taken place in November.  One of the verses addresses what Joel talked about.. Here is that verse (along with the prior one which sets up the verse that addresses the JFK assassination):

One November we won a war

Over there.  But if one kept score

It was millions dead on each side

Where heros under poppies lie.

Names and faces not remembered

In the speeches each November.

Forty five years later we lost

The shining knight of Camelot.

A man named Oswald aimed a gun

And shot the young president down.

A conspiracy, some would say --

Where were you that November day?

Joel, it was good that you were sitting next to Laird.  This gives us another chance to remember him and to again say goodbye. Maybe you can take out your trumpet and play "Taps" for him.

Philip Mason

David Slavkin started a small email thread that included Laird and me. I recall there were jokes and remembrances about Pgh. I remembered Laird from 11th grade and earlier bands although there was no particular reason for trombone and clarinet to have much in common other than David. I still regret the time my wife and I visited Australia in 2014 and I had hoped to visit Laird in Adelaide as it was close to Kangaroo Island which we wanted to visit. But we realized that our trip was already very long as we were to be on a cruise for 3 weeks around New Zealand that ended in Sydney and it would have been somewhat expensive to also spend another week or so going to Adelaide. Instead we spent a wonderful extra few days in Sydney.

I was in the AP chem class with Tom and primarily remember the shock of the JFK announcement.

Tom: Thank you for recalling more about what happened then. And kudos on your very creative poem (exerpt).

Phil

Michael Brourman

    The first thing I remember about Laird is his smile. At TAHS, it seemed as if he always was smiling. In looking at his HS graduation picture, it might be the only time he wasn't smiling. Laird's wasn't a phony smile either. He was a genuinely nice guy and a good person.

    I came to Allderdice with my own set of biases. I think all of us did. One of mine was that us Jews were basically smarter than other teenagers  Meeting people like Laird, Jennifer Jessop, Tommy Allison, Joel Wingard and others cured me of that notion. Laird was far better in math and natural sciences than I was. Calculus seemed to come so easily for him. Another bias I had was that most of the Christian students hated us. That was another one that Laird had a role in dispelling. Was there anyone he didn't like and have a big smile for? I don't think so. I remember being struck by how multi-talented he was: a math whiz, a talented musician and a good athlete. Add a really good guy and you have the whole package.

    We went from TAHS to Pitt together, but he was in the School of Engineering  and I was in the School of Liberal Arts, so our paths seldom crossed. I saw him occasionally on campus and he always was friendly. I lost touch with him after graduation. We both went on to graduate school, but half a continent apart. Tommy Allison occasionally brought me up to date on Laird through our correspondence, but I don't believe he mentioned the cancer diagnosis.

    A couple of years ago, I suggested that enough members of our class had passed away and we should just stop dying. Obviously, that hasn't happened. It doesn't really get any easier to accept. Every time I see an email about another classmate being added to the In Memoriam section, it is difficult to read and accept.  Partially because it exposes our own mortiality, and partially because, as in this case, another truly good person is gone from  a world that needs all of them it can get. 
 

Marvin Chosky

Tommy:

I vividly remember being in Robley's class that snowy day. I know it was snowing because David Schwatz and I were supposed to go sled riding that night with two girls from Stanton Heights that we met at Emma Farm that was cancilled because of the shooting. Although we can't remember why we went into the kitchen, we remember exactly where we were on 7/21/69; on 11/22/63; and 9/11. 

Your poem hit many points that unfortunately aren't talked about.

I only knew Laird in passing. From the writings, he seemed to be a "Mench."

RIP Laird

Tom Allison

Yes, Marvin, a mench. Laird would undoubtedly be pleased to know that his final act on this earth -- leaving it -- has stimulated such a deep conversation, bringing old friends together to discuss his life and ours and how we shared several amazing years together and, in doing so, renewing and deepening those friendships.

David Schwartz