Arlan Baird Obituary (1934 - 2023)

Arlan Randall Baird, beloved husband, brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away Friday, December 8, 2023, of illness related to old age. Arlan was born at home in a brick house on Chester Street in Ogden, Utah on December 13, 1934. From a young age his parents and siblings helped cultivate his lifelong loves for family, music, learning, and, above all, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Arlan graduated from Ogden High School in 1953. He served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Southern States Mission from 1955 - 1957 and often shared his fond memories of the South. He studied music education at Utah State University, earning a Bachelor's Degree in 1959 followed by a Master's Degree in 1964. He taught middle school and high school band and choir in several small towns before moving to Brigham Young University for continued post-graduate study, where he met the love of his life Judith in a music class he was leading. He proposed to Judi in the hospital as she was recovering from a serious car accident, and they were married on September 16, 1968. After living in Provo for a time, Arlan was offered a job in Ogden as a correctional counselor with the Northern Utah Community Correctional Center. Arlan and Judi lived in Ogden for over 40 years, raising their six children together. Arlan was known for his compassionate approach to social work during his 30-year career. In addition, he usually held one or even two additional part-time jobs to help support his family, often working long hours and late nights. After retiring, he continued to keep busy by substitute teaching and volunteering in local schools. Arlan's life was defined by his great passions. He was an excellent singer, and his strong bass voice could be heard anywhere in the chapel as it rang out in praise each Sunday. He was a fixture conducting hymns in sacrament meetings and stake conferences for many years, and organized and led dozens of ward, stake, and community choirs. However, Arlan was truly in his element when conducting a concert band. In those moments, he took on the grace and flair of a swordfighter. Arlan had a deep affinity for classical music and an encyclopedic knowledge of its history and theory. He began playing the French horn in high school and performed it regularly for most of the next 65 years. He played many summers in the USU Alumni Band from its inception in 1963 through 2019. He also enjoyed performing with the Ogden Concert Band and especially the opportunities it afforded him to travel with the band to Europe and Asia. Arlan was a connoisseur of the English language and relished discussing the minutia of its grammar, vocabulary, and usage. He was known for his eloquence as a speaker and teacher and could always be relied upon to deliver captivating and substantive lessons and talks in his uniquely earnest and methodical style, nearly always leavened by his affection for wordplay and gentle humor. Arlan was a lifelong student of the scriptures and the history and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spending thousands of hours poring over the standard works and scholarly texts. There was hardly a visit to Dad's which didn't include the sharing of a scriptural insight or tidbit of church history he had gleaned through his study that week. These habits served Arlan well in his many church callings, including serving in his senior years as a service missionary with Judi, a member of the branch presidency at the Fairfield Village, and an ordinance worker in the Bountiful Temple. Even in his last weeks, when time and illness had robbed him of his physical and mental capacities, Arlan was usually found studying his scriptures, lecturing his grandchildren on gospel principles, and leading his fellow residents of memory care in mealtime prayers. Along with his faith, Arlan's greatest treasure was his family. He and Judi successfully raised six children. He was as comfortable showing his kids the proper technique for fielding a baseball or shooting a hook shot as he was teaching them about grammar or music or his favorite passages of scripture. He was always a faithful and devoted husband, and he and Judi instilled their work ethic, love of learning, and firm testimonies in each of their children. Arlan was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Olive Condie Baird; and his siblings, Eyvonne and Ramon (Marilyn) Baird. He is survived by his wife, Judith Smith Baird; his sister, Anita (William) Ford; his children, Carl Baird, Anna (Patrick) Wilder, Daniel (Kristina) Baird, David (Martha) Baird, Rebecca Baird, and Eric (Debora) Baird; 20 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Viewings will be held at Myers Mortuary, 250 North Fairfield Road, Layton, on Thursday, December 14, 2023 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm and Friday, December 15 from 10:00 - 11:00 am. Funeral services will be held in the same location on Friday, December 15 at 11:30 am. Interment will be at the Ogden City Cemetery. Services will be recorded and posted Friday by 5 p.m.