Robert Sylvester Laidlaw was born September 20, 1927 to Adam and Adaline Laidlaw in Braddock, SK. Due to circumstances unknown to us, Bobby was admitted into Souris Valley Regional Care Centre at age 14, in 1941. In 1964, when Bob was 37, the Saskatchewan Government was integrating residents back into the community to live a more normalized life. My grandfather, Mike Doud Sr. and my grandmother Lorraine, took in eight residents on their farm. Bob was one these residents. Grandpa moved in a building that resembled a granary, he put in carpet and a washing station; he set up eight beds and it became their living quarters. Lorraine would feed all the residents in the morning before she fed her own family, which consisted of ten children. Mike had planted several rows of trees for a windbreak. The residents cleaned up the rows, picked all the weeds in the trees, and kept Lorraine鈥檚 large garden watered and weed-free. Bob was always outside helping with many different farm duties. One of his favourite things to do was work in the garden or the potato patch. In 1968, Mike and Lorraine moved to Radville; Bob stayed on the farm. Pat and Bill were living there too, so the three men started batchin鈥� it. In 1974 Pat married Leann. They bought a farm one mile from the original Joe Doud homestead. After Pat moved off the farm Bob was living alone in the house. Pat would drive over every morning and bring Bob to his and Leann鈥檚 farm and Leann would feed Bob. After supper Pat would drive Bob back to the farm to sleep. Eventually Bob moved in with Pat and Leann permanently. Once Bob moved in he would sometimes babysit us kids. His go-to meal was always hamburgers with mashed potatoes; we always ate it when he cooked, and we thought it was delicious. I remember Bob always had a hanky in his pocket, it was sort of like his security blanket. Bob鈥檚 favourite show to watch was Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada. His favourite team were the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he watched them win their last Stanley Cup in 1967. Bob never spoke. Sometimes he would mutter under his breath though, and we could make out a few swear words鈥� Usually they were directed at Dad. Bob enjoyed going down to Lake Alma to watch Pat and Bill play with the men鈥檚 senior hockey team. He enjoyed celebrating with the Doud family and some close neighbour friends. He especially enjoyed watching the kids play, and enjoyed all the simple things in life. I will always remember Bob driving. He never had his license, but would drive the truck around and follow the machinery from one field to another. He loved looking at the countryside, and checking out the cows and the crops. As long as I can remember Bob has been a part of our lives. He was always at the table during meals, and we celebrated every holiday with him. He will be dearly missed. I remember Bob putting on his coveralls and cowboy boots; he always wore his hat and a good pair of leather gloves or lined mitts鈥� Off he would go. Often he had no particular task. He would spend hours outside walking around, simply observing. The dog and a few cats could often be found somewhere close to his feet. Bob would babysit us occasionally, and if the Schwan鈥檚 Ice Cream truck drove into the yard he would buy us ice cream; Grandpa always made sure he had cash in his wallet. When we were small we could often be found climbing on his lap. Bob always had a lot of patience with us kids. I do remember that sometimes when he would babysit, if we weren鈥檛 listening, he would take his belt off and snap it, to warn us to listen or we would be getting a spank. I don鈥檛 think he really intended to spank us鈥� For some reason he never actually caught us. Bob enjoyed reading the newspaper, he could often be found behind the pages of the Radville Star or the Western Producer, wearing his magnifying glasses. One summer there was a boy from Radville who really wanted to date me; I wanted nothing to do with him, but he didn鈥檛 want to take no for an answer. One summer day he drove in the yard and I鈥檇 had enough. I asked Bobby to go stand on the front porch with a shotgun鈥� This boy finally took the hint. I was especially grateful for Bob that day. Every Christmas Bobby would get a parcel in the mail鈥� A bottle of cologne from his brother Glenn. Bob always look forward to that. Bob had a very special place in our hearts. He walked me part-way up the aisle on my wedding day, and we named our youngest daughter Hannah Bobbi. Bob and I always had a very special bond; he was a great man. A few years ago Bob suffered a heart attack. He needed a catheter for life. He also needed a walker once he arrived home, but he did his exercises diligently. A bit later he fell and broke his hip; the doctor didn鈥檛 think he would walk again鈥� But of course he did. He no longer wanted to venture outside though, and was pretty much house-bound after this. The last year of his life Bobby was confined to a wheelchair鈥� This cat had met his ninth life. We are so grateful to have had Bobby in our lives. If he were here today, Bob would say his greatest gift in life was coming into the Doud family. The Doud family also received one of their greatest gifts in Bob. Rest in peace Bob鈥� You deserve it. Bobby was predeceased by Mike Doud Sr., Lorraine (Hall), Bunny (Paul) Doud, Jack Doud, Mike Doud Jr., Susan(Doud) Cook, Janet Doud, Angele Doud, and Billie Jo Doud. Bobby is survived by Patrick (Leann) Doud and their children: Dellas (Doud) Poncelet, Chell (Natasha) Doud, Andie (Jeff) Littlejohn and Whitney Doud. Their grandchildren: Niklas and Hannah Poncelet; Walker, Colter and Katie Doud; Alex and Thomas Littlejohn; Cruz and Carter DeBruyne; also survived by Sheila Currie (Larry), Bill Doud (Bill鈥檚 late wife Brenda), Loretta El-Zabet (Omeed), Rosemarie Bourgeois (Kelly), John Paul (Cheryl), Denise Doud, Jocelyn Mazenc, Harry Cook and all of their聽 children. Bobby looked forward to celebrating at the Doud family reunions; he appreciated all of the Doud鈥檚 and all of their extended family. A Funeral Service for Robert was held on Monday, April 18, 2016 at 1:30pm from RD Family Funeral Chapel, with Reverend Martin Olson, officiating. Active Pallbearers were: Chance Doud, Adam Hall, Chell Doud, Troy Fredrick, Darwin Temple, Jim Doud. Interment followed at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery, Maxim, SK. For family and friends so wishing donations in memory of Robert may be made to the Radville Marian Health Centre Foundation, Box 310, Radville, SK, S0C 2G0. Arrangements were entrusted to RD Family Funeral Chapel & Crematorium, Weyburn, (306-848-0333 ~ 1-888-848-0333). Expressions of sympathy to the family may be sent to our website at www.rdfamilymemorialchapel.com 鈥淥ur Family Serving Your Family鈥�
