On this weekend of remembrance and reflection surrounding Veterans Day, the community of Michigan’s Great Southwest and the entire rest of the nation has lost another member of the “Greatest Generation,” and a man who carried on the family tradition with five decades of service during his turn at the reins of the Wolverine Mutual Insurance Company headquartered in Dowagiac.
D. Bruce Laing passed away unexpectedly from heart failure on Thursday, November 8, 2018. He was 94. He was a key linchpin in the family’s more than 100 year run of Wolverine Mutual. The company was fortunate to have him follow in the footsteps of his father E. Bruce Laing, and he in turn handed over the keys to the executive suite to his son G. Bruce Laing in the mid 1990s. G. Bruce in turn handed the reins to his younger brother Jim Laing in 2006. The company celebrated its 100th anniversary in business just last year. D. Bruce Laing was delighted to have been able to witness the transfer of power to both of his sons in his lifetime.
A lifelong resident of Dowagiac, Bruce enjoyed an exemplary life in countless ways, improving the lives of those who knew him through his kindness, wit, intellect, generosity and warmth. Married to the love of his life Barbara Jean Brown of St. Ignace, Michigan on July 27, 1946, Bruce and Barb shared 72 years of laughs and love together.
Bruce was born February 15, 1924 in Dowagiac, to E. Bruce Laing and Elizabeth Sweet Laing. He was preceded in death by his brother David Gordon Laing.
As a young man Bruce enjoyed the lakes of Cass County and in particular one summer hauling ice for the Boyce Ice Company. He fell in love with the University of Michigan football team after sharing many trips to Ann Arbor for games and enjoying radio broadcasts with his parents. In high school he was an outstanding athlete with letters in three sports, and a substantial contributor to the school’s paper and yearbook, sharing his love of history and comedic drawings with classmates.
In the fall of 1941, Bruce entered the University of Michigan as a freshman. World War II would interrupt his studies and, as a member of the “Greatest Generation” he enlisted to perform his duty to his country. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant in the Army Air Corps and served throughout the War in the Pacific Theater. From 1943 through 1945 he served with the 5th Air Force, duties taking him to Australia, New Guinea, The Philippines, Okinawa and Japan. He shared those vivid memories with those who knew him best and felt particularly blessed to have served on the the staff of General George Whitehead during that period.
Discharged in the Port of San Francisco in December of 1945, Bruce returned to the University of Michigan. In July of 1946 he married his college sweetheart, Barbara and the next year was admitted to the University of Michigan Law School. The birth of his son, G. Bruce Laing in 1947, interrupted his legal studies and in 1950, Bachelor’s degree in hand, Bruce and Barbara settled in Dowagiac and he began a 50 year career in the insurance business with the family’s Wolverine Mutual Insurance Company. Bruce and Barbara loved their college years in Ann Arbor where they made many lifelong friendships and for the rest of his life he regaled friends and family with tales of humor and happenstance from those nostalgic times.
His Michigan relations never faded and in 1970 he worked with fellow local Michigan alums, Ed Schalon and Bob Winchester, to create what would eventually be named “Big Michigan Doings.” They arranged for Michigan Athletic Staff to visit Southwest Michigan annually to commune with local fans over golf and dinner, bringing laughs and loyalties together for a festive evening.
On the academic side he served as the 10th Alumni District Representative covering Western Michigan all the way to the Straits of Mackinac. For his contributions to Michigan he was honored with an invitation to membership in the Varsity “M” Club.
Bruce was a committed volunteer in numerous civic and community organizations, serving in various capacities in the Rotary Club, Elks Club, multiple roles on the boards of directors of several financial institutions, and the Southwestern Michigan College Foundation. He also served six years as a board trustee at Wayland Academy, a private boarding school in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
Bruce was particularly proud of serving as the President of the Dowagiac Union School Board when the current high school was built in the 1960s. He also much enjoyed creating the Sports Council which organized the annual high school sports awards banquet, and worked diligently to bring to Dowagiac inspiring coaches and athletes from Michigan, Notre Dame, Michigan State and other outstanding institutions to motivate and encourage Dowagiac’s young student athletes.
Bruce and Barbara retained a lifelong love of Northern Michigan and spent countless summers at their cottage in the Les Cheneaux Islands in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula close to family and friends.
He is survived by his wife Barbara and their four children, G Bruce Laing (Jane Clagett) of Dowagiac, Anne Gottlieb (Bob Gottlieb) of St.Joseph, Mari Smazal (Michael Cook) of Denver, Colorado, and James Laing (Shelby Riccioni) of Stevensville, nine grandchildren and eight great grandchildren and many nephews and nieces.
He will be sorely missed and joyfully remembered by family as an aficionado of books, storyteller, animal lover, amateur historian, and and “untoppable family man” who selflessly doted on his wife, children, grandchildren, and, finally, great grandchildren throughout his life. He was a man of gentle, compelling strength and honest desire to do what’s right.
The collective community of Michigan’s Great Southwest has lost another major business mentor, but the legacy transferred to his sons continues to make Wolverine Mutual an industry leader.
Private graveside services will be held in Dowagiac and St. Ignace.
The photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market is courtesy of D. Bruce Laing’s granddaughter Maggie Laing, who also shared most of the above information from his obituary.
