Janne Laird

Vernona Janne Laird (née Carson) was born on June 6, 1941 on the family farm in
central Missouri to Virginia Marian and Paul Vernon Carson. She was called home by her
Savior Jesus Christ on October 6, 2025 in Kalispell, MT. She was the fourth of five children.
Several of the children were named after their parents, she was the lucky one to be given a
feminine form of her father’s name Vernon. She hated it and went by Janne her whole life,
which had it’s own challenges. Chronically mispronounced as Jane or Janie she could be
overheard at many social events saying “It’s Anne with a J in front; Janne”
Janne (not Jane) grew up in Rolla, MO. She was a farmer’s daughter with socialite
tastes. She was intelligent, opinionated and had a wee flair for drama. She was on the debate
team and journalist club in high school and bragged about having the most petticoats under
her poodle skirt. She planned to attend college and travel the world as a journalist until she met
David. In her senior year of high school, David Laird entered into her life as the new, young
(and single!) music minister at her family church. Many mothers in the church had tried to turn
David’s interest to their eligible daughters so he was skeptical when he was being introduced
to the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Carson. When Janne and her mother proceeded to get into a
heated discussion about university options in front of David, he realized that neither were trying
to make a good impression and asked her out on a date. Nine months later they were married
on August 29, 1959, creating the dubious task of now having to correct the pronunciation of
both her first and last names. Despite giving up her dream of being a journalist and socialite,
Janne was happy. In the subsequent years they added to their family three daughters and
many cats consecutively named “Flossybell”.
David’s job as a minister caused them to live a bit of a nomadic life. In their marriage
they lived in 11 cities and 7 states. Janne loved the adventure of each new place except when
they moved to south Louisiana in 1962 at the height of the Civil Rights movement. Upon
learning that Janne was from the ‘north’, a member of their church congregation slowly
drawled to her “I was 11-years-old before I knew ‘Damn Yankee’ was two words.” In which
Janne quickly retorted, “That’s ok, I was 11-years-old before I knew Robert E Lee was more
than a steam ship.” It wasn’t long after that the family moved back north.
David told Janne that he wouldn’t be able to afford braces for the girls on his minister’s
salary. Fearing that the girls’ very crooked teeth would prevent them from making ‘suitable’
matches, Janne began picking up any extra work she could find. She walked door to door
taking surveys and was a School Crossing Guard until she had saved enough money to fix the
girls’ teeth. After securing the girls’ orthodontic salvation she continued working and socked
away some extra money and took the family to Disney World the year after it opened. Janne’s
family had many adventures and vacations because she knew how to work and save. She
discovered a way to contribute to the family’s bottom line and indulge her love of travel by
becoming a Travel Agent in the early 1970’s. She loved the profession and continued to work
in the industry through the family’s many moves, even owning her own agency for several
years. She created many loyal clients who sought her out to plan their trips long after the
internet mitigated the need for Travel Agents. She reluctantly gave it all up on the eve of her
80th birthday due to her advancing Dementia. Her career created many opportunities to travel
professionally and for personal enjoyment. She traveled to the USSR, Africa, the Middle East,
Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America and several Caribbean
islands, many locations more than once. David accompanied her on most of her trips but when
he desired to stay home, she generously brought other friends and family members along for
the fun.
Janne had a sharp mind, a quick wit and loved current events. David being a shy
personality, admired how easily she could converse with anyone in any station of life about any
subject. She knew a little bit about seemingly everything and could give a correct response to
nearly every answer on Jeopardy. Her absolute favorite past time was enjoying a cup of good
black coffee while laughing and debating with friends and family. She liked cooking for those
she loved and had the amazing ability to create a tasty meal in minutes from from odds and
ends in the pantry and fridge.
Janne felt very fortunate when she achieved the rank of Grandmother. Fondly referred
to as “Oma” by her 6 grandchildren, she relished the time she spent with them. Swimming and
traveling with and cooking for them were her favorite Oma duties. As the grandkids grew it was
rare to see Oma without her video camera in her hand. She filmed many mundane events and
her family would give her a hard time about it’s constant presence and use. She would snap
back at their taunting declaring that one day we’d all be grateful that she filmed so much. She
was right of course, we have many gatherings and memories preserved because of her
diligence.
Dementia began to rob Janne of her mental acuity and memories in 2017. Forced
isolation during the Covid pandemic exacerbated her illness and David’s physical decline
necessitated their move to Montana to live with their daughter and son-in-law in 2021. Within
a year their other two daughters moved from Indiana and Illinois to help care for them.
Dementia is cruel but it can also be the source of many funny stories which will be saved for
another time. Her daughters considered it a privilege to care for their parents when they
needed it. It was a small return on the favor for all they had given them growing up. Janne
lived in her family’s home for two years until her disease prompted her move to full time
Memory Care at Immanuel Living. As the family was focused on the transition, David suffered
an unexpected health crisis and passed away. Janne was never aware of David’s passing and
is now enjoying a surprise reunion with him in the presence of Jesus Christ.
Janne and David were unwavering followers of Jesus Christ and introduced their
children to Him. Because of their love and faithfulness to Him, their children, grandchildren
and some of the great grandchildren now love and serve Jesus as their Lord. It’s a quiet legacy
with eternal consequences and we are grateful to them for their lives lived in love and
examples of that faith.
We would like to thank the staff at the Lodge at Immanuel Living for their kind and
beautiful care of Mom for 2.5 years. We would also like to thank Enhabit Hospice for their
guidance and gentleness with Mom and us as her body gave way to Dementia’s inevitable end.
Janne was preceded in death by David, her husband of 63 years, her parents and all
four siblings. She is survived by her daughters, Alysen, Elizabeth, and Tracy, son-in-law Todd,
6 grandchildren and their spouses, 5 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews who
have fond memories of their “favorite Aunt Janne”.

A funeral service will be held on Sunday October 12, 2025 at 3:30 PM at Darlington Funeral Home in Kalispell, Montana.  Interment will follow at 4:30 PM at Fairview Cemetery in Columbia Falls, Montana.  

In Lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Janne's honor to Wheeler Mission @ Wheelermission.org

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Janne Laird, please visit our floral store.