Boydson Howard Baird

Boydson Howard Baird, of Maryville, passed away on January 24, 2010, at Shannondale Retirement Community. He was born on December 12, 1918, in Fruitdale, Ohio, the youngest of four children and one of the three “Baird Boys.” After growing up in Kilbourne, Ohio, he followed his older brothers to Maryville College, where he was a four sport athlete and President of the student body. After graduating, Boydson served in World War II in the Pacific as an officer in the Army Corp of Engineers. After the war, he headed back to school at Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio, and married Nancy Hubbart. Upon completing a Masters Degree at Indiana University, he and Nancy lived in North Carolina and Virginia where he coached and taught at Davidson College and at The College of William and Mary. In 1959, he returned to Maryville College, moved in across the street from the athletic fields and became Athletic Director, Head of the Department of Physical Education and Recreation, and Head Football, Basketball and Baseball Coach. He was at Maryville College for seventeen years and retained a lifelong interest in all aspects of his Alma Mater. As a long time member of New Providence Presbyterian Church, he served as both a deacon and an elder and on numerous committees. He also served as President of the Maryville Kiwanis Club. Coach Baird, as he was known to most, enjoyed all sports and recreational activities. He and his wife Nancy, along with their children, spent twelve summers working at and enjoying New Hampshire’s Sargent Camp. He was an avid fisherman and played eighteen holes of golf late last summer. Boydson was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy Hubbart Baird, his parents, Lucy P. and Frank E. Baird, his sister, Helen, and his brothers, Weldon and William. He is survived by his children, Faith Carpenter, her husband, Kyle, Weldon Baird, Annie Frick, her husband, Jay; grandchildren, David, his wife Kate, and Mary Carpenter; Laura, Ross, Henry and Bradley Baird, and Maggie Frick; and sisters-in-law, Aileen Baird and Marion Shipps and her husband, Frazier. Several nieces and nephews also mourn his passing. Coach Baird’s family will always be grateful for the care shown by the staff of Shannondale during his last years. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Maryville College Athletic Department, 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804, or to the New Providence Presbyterian Church Building Fund, 703 West Broadway Avenue, Maryville, TN 37801. Following a private interment in the Maryville College Cemetery, a memorial service will be held at New Providence Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, January 27, at 2:00 p.m. The Reverend Dr. Emily J. Anderson and the Reverend Dr. Stan Rushing officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at the church in Westminster Hall. McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home in charge. www.mccammonammonsclick.com