Matters of the Heart
Campbell and Fran Laird: A love story that began ‘across the pond’
by Mary Jo David (as shared by the Lairds)
Campbell and Frances (“Fran”) Laird may be living in the Stockbridge home Fran grew up in, but their love story had its start more than 60 years ago and 3,700 miles away.
“My family knew a professor friend in England who had a PhD student—Campbell—who was going to be starting his career by traveling to the U.S. to work in a Ford lab in Dearborn,” Fran explained.
Campbell, who grew up in the Western Highlands of Scotland, was studying metallurgy at Cambridge. He had the good sense to accept his professor’s invitation to meet Fran and her sister who were visiting England at the time.
After an enjoyable time in England, the Beckwith sisters returned to Michigan. When Campbell arrived in Dearborn, he and Fran rekindled their friendship. Although Campbell’s abilities were more aligned with the sciences and Fran had a degree in art history from the University of Michigan, the young couple did find they had a lot in common. For example, they both loved nature, books, music, and travel.
A year later, on June 20, 1964, Fran and Campbell were married at the Presbyterian Church in Stockbridge. Afterwards, they moved to Dearborn to be closer to Campbell’s job. Although they were living outside of Detroit, their first daughter, Kate, was born in Jackson, where Fran’s father, Dr. Beckwith, was working.
The couple’s other children, Andrew and Lucy, were born in Pennsylvania, where the family moved when Campbell was offered a professorship in materials science at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to teaching and research, he also spent years serving as an expert witness providing testimony when machinery or infrastructure broke down resulting in personal injuries.
After raising their children, Fran worked as a guide in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She became interested in the Reagan era peace movement and earned her master’s degree in Russian language and literature. She wrote two books (a third is in process) translating the works of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. In 1988, she traveled to Ukraine to participate in the Soviet American Peace Walk from Odessa to Kiev.
The couple returned to Stockbridge in 2005, after Campbell retired. They moved into the family home Fran grew up in. During retirement, Campbell’s focus has been on building, fixing, and gardening. Meanwhile, Fran’s interests tend toward reading, cooking, and pursuing her ongoing interest in Russian poetry.
Their three children grew into successful adults and had children of their own. The Lairds are now the proud grandparents of six grandchildren: Rory, Julia, Jane, Bonnie, Laura, and Hildy.
Until recently, the Lairds didn’t feel they had been challenged with many obstacles they couldn’t handle. But then their daughter Kate was killed in a horseback riding accident about a year ago.
“The most difficult thing we’ve ever had to face was the death of our daughter,” Fran said. “Learning to live with that sense of grief and loss has been extremely difficult.”
The challenges of aging and physical wear and tear are also relatively new to this couple. Unfortunately, all of Campbell’s years of experience studying fracture and fatigue in the world of metallurgy have not helped them to discover the secret to avoiding the physical limitations of aging.
But when it comes to sustaining long, happy partnerships, the couple does have advice to offer those who are just starting out. According to Campbell and Frances Laird, the best think you can do is apply the “Two Fs” to those relationships—forgiving and forgetting.
Photos provided by Andrew Laird.
In June 1964, Frances Beckwith donned her wedding gown and Campbell Laird his kilt for their wedding ceremony at the Presbyterian Church in Stockbridge.
The Lairds sporting a mod look in 1963.
Fran and Campbell Laird celebrate her 80th birthday with daughter-in-law Polly Gibbins and granddaughters Laura (left) and Bonnie (right).
