Nelson Laird

Nelson V. Laird 

April 30, 1922 – February 11, 2025

Nelson was born to Oscar and Rose Laird in Littleton, Colorado. A small town just ten miles south of Denver. Nelson graduated from Littleton High School in 1940 and went to work for a small manufacturing plant in Littleton driving a pickup truck. He walked deliveries all over the Denver Area. 

In September of 1942, Nelson enlisted in the U.S Army Signal Corps and was inducted at Fort Logan, near Denver. After basic training, he was assigned to army radio communication schools in Georgia and New Jersey. He was then assigned to an Army Combat Engineer Battalion in Fort Butner, North Carolina. In November of 1944, his unit was deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) and fought in Belgium through the Battle of the Bulge and across Northern Germany until they met the Russians at the Elbe River ending the war in Europe. He was returned to the United States and Discharged at Fort Logan in March of 1946. 

In August 1946, he went to work for Western Electric Co. Which is now, AT&T, installing telephone central office equipment in the Denver Area. In July 1947, he married Catherine Greb (Kay). Together they had three sons, Robert, Jeffery, and Christopher. In 1950, he was transferred to Salt Lake City where he installed switching gear in several telephone offices. Nelson was promoted to Supervisor and supervised installation in telephone central offices all over Utah and Idaho. In 1982, he retired with 36 years of service. Nelson and Kay then purchased a motor home. During the summer, they traveled and camped all over the central and western United States. The winter months (November – March), they camped in Yoma, Arizona where they had many “snowbird” friends enjoying weekly patio parties and dog races on Saturday afternoons. 

In 2000, they gave up being snowbirds and became full-time residents in their home in South Salt Lake. Nelson loved the outdoors, keeping his yard neatly trimmed, mowing the lawn, growing flowers, shrubs, bushes, and even a few vegetables. He was proud of his tomato “bushes” and often gave the fresh tomatoes to his neighbors and friends. Nelson was a part of many different organizations such as the Telephone Pioneers, Utah “Rolling Fones”, South Salt Lake Lion’s Club and, a member of the Centenary Methodist Church. 

Nelsons wife, Kay, died in 2015. He is survived by his sons, Bob and Chris (Cindy), 2 grandchildren (Ryan and Christy), and 6 great grandchildren. Evening open viewing will be held on Thursday, February 20 at 6pm – 8pm. The service will be held February 21st starting @ 11am. A viewing will be held 45 minutes prior to the service. Burial will be held at Mountain View Cemetery post service. (3115 Bengal Blvd, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121) Burial will be held at Mountain View Cemetery post service. (3115 Bengal Blvd 7800 S, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121)