Memorial Contributions may be made to:
Br. James Dowd, OSB Founding Prior The Benedictine Way Monk in Residence Diocese of NE 3020 Belvedere Blvd. Omaha, NE 68111 531-301-4265 [email protected] Kansas City English Bulldog Rescue 8800 Raytown Road PO Box 380044 Kansas City, MO 64138 St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church 1501 Edwardsville Drive Edwardsville, KS 66113 |
Father Laird MacGregor
Laird Stanley MacGregor, was born May 5, 1966, in Medicine Lodge, KS, to John W. and Barbara H. MacGregor. He passed away on May 11, 2025, at home in Edwardsville, KS. Laird was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, John W. MacGregor II, known as Scott. He is survived by two sisters, Elizabeth (Jim) Phillips, Lawrence, KS, and Allison Keller, Cassoday, KS; Nieces: Sarah Harbaugh (Mark Remmert), Emporia, KS, Emily (Joshua) Coffin, McLouth, KS, Jennifer (Travis) Hendricks, Lawrence, KS; Nephews; Michael (May) MacGregor, Oklahoma City, OK, Benjamin (Lesley) Harbaugh, Americus, KS, Adam (Melody) Phillips, Lawrence, KS., as well as many more family and friends across the country, and around the world. Services were held at St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church in Edwardsville, KS, on Friday, May 23, 2025, at 10:00 am. His history in his own words: "I am a native Kansan, born and raised in Medicine Lodge, in the south-central part of the state. My family was very active in St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Medicine Lodge during my formative years, and I'm a fourth-generation Episcopalian. I attended seminary at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., graduating in 2006. I was ordained to the transitional diaconate around the same time, and accepted a call to serve at St. Anne's in McPherson, Kan., in June 2006. I was ordained to the priesthood there in November of that year. During my time at St. Anne's I served in a variety of capacities at both the local and diocesan levels and helped re-establish the volunteer chaplaincy program at the local hospital, among other efforts. I left St. Anne's in November 2018 when the parish opted to discontinue the full-time rector's position. I relocated to Lawrence in January 2019, and while pursuing full-time employment, I served as a supply priest in several locations across the Diocese of Kansas and supplemented my income with some freelance writing. I worked briefly as a temporary paraprofessional in a local elementary school in Lawrence. Prior to seminary and ordination, I worked for 15 years in daily newspaper journalism, including stints in various capacities at the Hutchinson (Kan.) News, the Olathe Daily News, and The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville. While in Nashville, I was an active member of Christ Church Cathedral downtown and actually began the ordination discernment process in the Diocese of Tennessee before gaining seminary sponsorship "back home" with the Diocese of Western Kansas. I also worked briefly as the media relations coordinator for the Nashville Rescue Mission, a 600-bed homeless shelter and addiction-treatment facility. As for my personal life, I am single, never married, and have no children, aside from the 4 English Bulldogs I have owned over the years. I enjoy reading, collecting books (especially on personal spirituality), working crossword puzzles, and am a huge baseball fan (Go Royals!). Blessings and peace, Fr. Laird MacGregor" |