Dr. William Free Baird, M.D.
Dr. William Free Baird, M.D., age 84, of Waynesburg, Pa., died Saturday, April 15, 2006, at 6:55 a.m. in Southwest Regional Medical Center, Waynesburg. He was born September 28, 1921, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Howard Melville Baird and Ruth Eichner Baird.
He graduated from Wilkinsburg (Pa.) High School and earned his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh.
On July 4, 1943, he married Clara “Chera” (Marshall) Baird who survives.
During World War II, he served as a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps in Japan from 1946 to 1948.
Dr. Baird then returned to Wilkinsburg where he practiced medicine and completed a residency in Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh.
From 1958 until 1982 Dr. Baird served as the pathologist at the Greene County Memorial Hospital in Waynesburg.
He was a Founding Partner of the Clinical Pathology Facility Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pa., and had authored several articles on cancer research.
He was a Fellow of the American College of Pathology and a member of the American Medical Association.
Dr. Baird was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Waynesburg where he had served as a Deacon.
He was also a member of the Waynesburg Lodge No. 153 F. & A. M., Syria Temple A.A.O.N.M.S., and the Waynesburg Elks B.P.O.E. 757.
He enjoyed woodcarving, painting and making furniture.
Dr. Baird was preceded in death by his parents, an infant son, Robert Eric Baird, and a brother, Howard Melville Baird Jr.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, are two sons: William Free Baird Jr. and his wife, Sally, of Waynesburg, and Dr. Richard Keith Baird, D.V.M., and his wife, Cathy, of Uniontown, Pa.; one daughter, Chera Baird Doty and her husband, Dr. Robert Doty, of Richfield, Ohio; six grandchildren: Jeff Baird, Corri Jones, Jonathan Baird, Justin Baird, Scott Doty and Eric Coty; and five great-grandchildren: Jennifer, Emma, Pisou, Holden and Keira.
Friends will be received at the BEHM FUNERAL HOMES INC., 182 West High Street, Waynesburg, Pa., Chuck Behm, Funeral Director, on Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. and Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. where Services will be held on Wednesday, April 19, at 11 a.m. with the Rev. William A. Sukolsky and the Rev. David L. Barrett officiating.
Waynesburg Lodge No. 153 F. & A. M. will hold Services in the Funeral Home on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Greene County Unit of the American Cancer Society or to a favorite charity.