BANGOR and AUGUSTA – Dr. Edmond Taylor Laing, 99, formerly of Bangor, passed away June 7, 2013, in Augusta, with loving family by his side. He was born Nov. 15, 1913, in Passadumkeag, son of Joseph H. Laing and Sada (Taylor) Laing and was raised and educated in Bangor.
He graduated from Bangor High School and Phillips Exeter Academy before entering the University of Maine, graduating in 1938. He received his medical degree in dentistry from the University of Buffalo, N.Y., and interned at Forsyth Dental Infirmary, Boston. He then joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and served with the 11th Armored Division, medical corps, in the Central European Theater of Operations; Ardennes, France and Germany, reaching the rank of Captain, earning the European African Middle Eastern Service Medal, American Service Medal and World War II Victory Medal before his honorable discharge in 1946. Upon coming home to Bangor he worked at Bangor Dental Clinic until he opened his own dental practice in the Exchange Building, State Street, and in 1956 moved it to Grove Street where he practiced until his retirement in 1983. He married Edna I. Philbrick in 1946 and together they raised three children. Doc Laing participated in his community, giving financial aid as well as his time and talents to many local organizations. He was instrumental in assisting to set up programs and provide instruction to dental hygienist students attending clinics at Dow field in Bangor. He was a member for many years of Penobscot Valley Dental Association and served tenure as its president, areas of interest to him and which he campaigned for was adding fluoride into Bangor’s water system and participating in dental clinics for children. He was a past president and member of Bangor Exchange Club, a member of Maine State Dental Association, American Dental Association, a noble of Anah Shriners, Bangor, and a Mason of 50 plus years in Bangor’s Rising Virtue Lodge No. 10, and a Scottish Rite member, Valley of Portland. He was an active parishioner of Hammond Street Congregational Church, Bangor. He enjoyed serving as a deacon, helping to put on their church suppers, participating in church bowling and dart ball leagues and donating time to Ernst Manor. In his younger years, Doc spent many happy times hunting and fishing with family and friends at Nicatous Lake, at the camp his father built, and the times spent with family and friends and the family dogs at his camp on Beech Hill Pond. He and his wife belonged to the Saturday Nighters, a group that often attended local Bangor dances. He enjoyed reading and golfing, especially golfing with his son-in-law, John.
He was predeceased by his wife, Edna (Philbrick) Laing; brothers, Joseph H. and Gerold Laing; and half sister, Luallie L. Hubbard. He is survived by son, Edmond L. Laing and wife, Joyce, of South Portland, daughter, Paula Anastasio and husband, John, of Augusta; daughter, Jean L. Littlefield of Corinna; two special nieces and their husbands, Judith and Frank Morgan and Bonnie and Arthur Allen; and other nieces and nephews in Maine, New Hampshire and Ohio. The family wishes to give special thanks to the hospital staff for the tremendous care given to Doc in his final days.
A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Friday, June 14, at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor, where friends are welcome to call 10 a.m. until time of service Friday. The family invites relatives and friends to share conversation and refreshments at the Family Reception Center of Brookings-Smith, 163 Center St., immediately after the funeral Friday. Interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor. Those who wish to remember Doc in a special way may make memorial gifts in his memory to Augusta Rainbow Club for the Visually Impaired, care of Barbara Potter, 16 Alton Road, Apt. 215, Augusta, ME 04330 or Meals on Wheels Program, P.O. Box 272, Hallowell, ME 04347. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com.
DR. EDMOND T. LAING, D.D.S.
