Judith Lynda Laird

Judith “Lynda” Laird died at her home in Jerome, Idaho, on March 6, 2025, after a long illness. She peacefully passed into the loving arms of Jesus Christ, surrounded by her family.

Lynda was the daughter of a shepherd, William Benjamin Parsons, and a homemaker, Sarah Elizabeth Lewis Parsons. She was born in the Bruneau Valley of remote Owyhee County on October 4, 1945. Her father had grown up in St. Ann’s Catholic Orphanage in Salt Lake City and moved to Idaho after serving in the U.S. Army in World War I. He died when Lynda was just six years old. Lynda and her two older sisters were raised by their widowed mother in the parsonage of the Bruneau Congregational Church. Lynda attended Bruneau High School and was a key member of the girls’ basketball team. Lynda later completed her high school diploma through the CSI GED program.

Lynda met her beloved husband, Dan Laird, in 1972 and the two were married in 1973. Lynda worked at the Tupperware plant in Jerome in the early 70s until she graduated from the Mr. Juan’s College of Hair Design in Twin Falls in 1974. She worked as a cosmetologist for several years.

In 1976, Lynda and Dan moved to an acreage west of Jerome, where they raised their children, as well as cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys, and numerous cats and dogs over the years. Lynda and Dan celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 2023 with an open house hosted by their son and daughter at the Jerome Bible Baptist Church.

Lynda was an avid reader and bowler, especially in her younger years. Later in life she enjoyed numerous crafts and hobbies, including knitting, crochet, embroidery, needle work, quilting, ceramics, acrylic painting, glass bead art, and genealogy. Lynda immensely enjoyed word puzzles, especially those with Bible and Christian themes. Though she had lost the sight in one eye, Lynda continued her crochet, needle work, and word puzzles until shortly before her death.

Lynda was a seven-great granddaughter of the Kentucky frontiersman, Daniel Boone. That may have been the basis for her love of hunting and fishing. Lynda and Dan enjoyed many hunting trips together and she successfully shot an elk near the Wood River Reservoir. She and Dan also enjoyed many bountiful fishing trips to Riley Creek in the Hagerman Valley and later, Salmon Falls Reservoir.

Lynda was an active member of the Jerome Bible Baptist Church for more than 50 years. She enjoyed many close Christian friendships there and participated in the Ladies’ Missionary Circle for many years. She also assisted in teaching Sunday School and worked in the nursery. She also volunteered hundreds of hours at Magic Valley St. Luke’s Hospital, working in the gift shop, surgical waiting rooms, and delivering flowers to patient rooms.

Lynda’s greatest loves were her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, her husband, her children, and her grandchildren. She is survived by her husband, Dan Laird, or Jerome; her son, Dan “Boon” Laird of Las Vegas, Nevada; her daughter, Carla Ostic (Tim) of Cheyenne, Wyoming; and grandsons, Samuel Ostic, of Timnath, Colorado and Benjamin Ostic, of San Diego, California. She is also survived by a sister, Madeline Sarah Parsons Goehring, of Caldwell, Idaho. She was preceded in death by a brother, Wesley Parsons, in 1997; a brother, Fred Nelson, in 2005; and a sister, Julie Ann Parsons Bell, in 2020.

A viewing will be held from 5 pm until 7 pm, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at Farnsworth Mortuary, 1343 S. Lincoln Ave, Jerome. Funeral service will be held at 11 am, with a viewing beginning at 10 am, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at Jerome Bible Baptist Church, 132 Second Ave E., Jerome, Idaho. Burial will conclude at Jerome Cemetery.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family on Lynda’s memorial webpage at www.farnsworthmortuary.com.