Andrew Laing ¹⁴³⁴

  General Notes:

Extract from a letter dated March 3, 2001, from Pearl (Laing) MacDonald, born March 19, 1929, to James C. Anderson of Kelowna B.C. Canada describing the life and times of her parents Andrew Laing, born 1896 in Scotland and Lillian Annie Maxwell.

My father was the middle child and younger son and was treated as such. When he finished school he learned a trade as a meat cutter. I believe he was about fourteen when he started. He ran away from home and joined the "Gordon Highlanders" also known as the "ladies from hell". He was under age and his mother found him and brought him home. He ran away again. He was sent to France. My Dad stated he and a buddy were just starting to eat breakfast when a shell exploded. Dad said he awoke a year later in hospital badly wounded. He kept a journal of his time in the war and in the hospital. The title was "The Great War". (We later found the journal after he died. Glen has it.) We did not know about the journal and he never talked about the war. When he left the hospital his hair had turned white. His hair later became black again. Dad was given leave to go to London and he delivered a letter from his superior to the officer's wife. (my mother's sister) My aunt was not at home but my mother was and there she saw him in all his splendor, kilts and his bony knees. Dad always said his knees were "bonnie".

Dad was discharged and married, I believe it was June 1919. He decided to go to Canada instead of Australia and he left Mom with her family and went to Vernon B.C. His brother John had been discharged from the service, I don't know which branch, and he came with his mother, father and sister. They settled in Kelowna B.C.

My Dad worked in a grocery and meat store and Mom arrived a few months later. I believe they were in Vernon about nine years.

Mom and Dad then went to Detroit, Michigan and in 1929 I was born and in 1930 Ivan was born. Somehow we ended up in Chicago, Illinois because I was seven and Ivan six when we took a trip by boat to London England to see our grandparents. When we returned, Dad moved up to Jacksonville, Florida for about one year and then to Miami, Florida. Dad bought a very small grocery store and in January, 1947 Mom died. Dad remarried in August. Her name was Madelaine, called Madge but I never really knew her, they left and lived in Seattle. My cousin Eva (Laing) probably knows more about her and Dad as Dad was very fond of Eva.

I married September 15, 1947 and Ivan went into the Marines in 1948. Dad and his wife lived in Seattle and he died there, I belive in the late sixties.

My Dad had a great sense of humor, he loved people and children. I know that if someone came to his store and needed food he would feed the family and say "pay when you can."
He liked to write funny poetry, sing silly songs and to tease you. My mother was was the love of his life. I can remember he brought her a cup of tea every morning before he went to work while she was still in bed. He had to leave for market about 5:00 A.M.

My parents and brother had black hair and I had fair skin and red hair. People would say "and where did this little girl come from ? " He would reply "We left her out in the rain and she rusted." So when anyone would ask me where I got my red hair, I would reply "I was left out in the rain and rusted."

signed Pearl L. MacDonald
__________________________________________________________________________

Andrew married Lillian Annie Maxwell, daughter of James Maxwell and Annie Ogstone, in 1919 in London, England.²³³⁹ (Lillian Annie Maxwell was born about 5 Dec 1893 in London, England ²³³⁹ and died on 14 Jan 1947 in Miami, Florida ²³³⁹.)

Andrew next married Madeline in 1947 in Unites States.