Obituaries

Lawrence Layden

 

Lawrence Layden

Lawrence Layden, a native of Greenport, died Dec. 27 in Greenwood, S.C. He was 90.

He was born in Greenport, the son of George and Marguerite Rayner Layden. He attended Greenport grade and high schools and spent summers at Sandy Beach with his grandparents; as a child he and friend at Sandy Beach would build makeshift rowboats and sailboats. In high school he was active in the band, chorus, and class plays and was inducted into ARISTON, a national high school honor society. He was valedictorian of GHS class of 1945. He had fond memories of growing up near the water and loved all things nautical.

In 1950 Mr. Layden received a mechanical engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. Upon graduation he joined Air Reduction Company (later named Airco and The BOC Group), where he worked for 41 years. Most of his career was spent in research and development, in offices in Murray Hill and Union, N.J., and Arcade, N.Y., the latter with the branch Aronson Machine Company. He held many patents and worked on technology integral to the launch of an Apollo mission.

Mr. Layden was an expert clock and watch repairman and a whiz at all things mechanical. He was a terrific photographer, enjoyed attending live classical music concerts, and traveled to many countries (and to Antarctica).

In 1991 he retired from Stanton, N.J., to a lakefront house in Seneca, S.C., where he volunteered nearly full-time with a chapter of Habitat for Humanity, helping to build dozens of homes.

Mr. Layden was married to Barbara Ann Brown from 1948 to 1966. He married Mary Elizabeth Dudley in 1968; she died in 2009. He was also predeceased by his brother George.

Survivors include his children, David (Sue) of Sauk City, Wis., and Wendy of Lenoir, N.C.; his stepchildren, Craig Dudley of Ferguson, N.C., and Dr. Gail Dudley of Sun City Center, Fla.; his brother Ed of Tucson, Ariz.; his grandchildren, Joelle (Chris) Junior, Brian (Kate) Dudley, Joshua Weichelt, Shea Campbell, and Steven, Micky and Eric Layden; two great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

Mr. Layden donated his body for medical research to the Medical University of South Carolina.

This is a paid notice.