Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Rosa Packard LAIRD
BRANDYWINE - Rosa Hayward McDonald, a lifelong Delawarean, generous benefactor and courageous leader for the causes in which she believed, died peacefully at her home near Smiths Bridge on the Brandywine Saturday, January 3. She was born Rosa Packard Laird on Aug. 24, 1916, the youngest of five children of William Winder and Mary A. B. duP. Laird. She and her fraternal twin sister, Wilhelmina Wemyss Laird (Craven), who died last July, quickly developed strong senses of identity and independence, traits which they retained through their long and productive lives. Rosa also displayed an early appetite for genealogical research and eventually became the go-to person if you wanted a good story or just basic facts about countless numbers of cousins. She served for more than 40 years on her family's Genealogy Committee. She and her four siblings attended Tower Hill, a school in which her parents played an active role as founders. Later she enrolled at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. from which she graduated in 1934. For her top academic and leadership honors, she was awarded a huge American flag, which she happily displayed on the roof of her home every 4th of July. Eschewing college (which she later regretted) Rosa returned home to a job as "girl Friday" at the du Pont family airport on Centre Road outside Wilmington. She ran the control tower, kept the books, cleaned the bathrooms, and made fast friends with all of the pilots and mechanics who worked at this busy hub of private aviation. She received flight instruction and became a registered pilot at the age of 21. Her stories (and pictures to support them) of daredevil flights in bi-planes always amazed her attentive listeners. In 1939, she and a friend were passengers on the first round-the-world Pan American Clipper flight. No shrinking violet, Rosa told the Captain that she could navigate and pilot any plane. She ultimately convinced him of her abilities and took regular turns in the Clipper's co-pilot seat during the eight week journey. In 1941, she married Lt. Nathan Hayward Jr. from Wayne, Pa. Although she gave up her pilot's license after the war, she maintained a keen interest in both Nate's army friends and career as well as aviation's place in American history. Throughout her life she corresponded regularly with GI's and generals on many continents, building a noted library on military history and earning honors from all branches of the armed services for her generosity and hospitality. After Nathan's death, she married Ellice McDonald Jr. and together they shared a remarkable 54 years. She soon began researching Ellice's Scottish ancestry, an effort which helped induce her initially reluctant spouse to become more involved in his ties to the Isle of Skye. He quickly rose to become Chieftain of the Clan Donald Society of the USA. Together they took many trips to Clan gatherings and highland games, hosting Celtic parties around the United States, Canada, and the UK. Rosa's military curiosity uncovered information about the WWII role of the Nepalese Gurkha regiments which fought brilliantly alongside the allied troops in both theaters. Learning that government had all but forgotten these unsung heroes, Rosa created a program of privately financed care for the aging and often indigent soldiers. Because of her long commitment to the Gurkha Welfare Trust and to publicizing the story of these brave warriors, she earned the admiration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who made her an Honorary Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1992. She and Ellice shared a lifelong passion for cats and dogs; over time they adopted countless numbers of strays and rescue pets who happily shared her animal "bed and breakfast" with the occasional pure bred German shepherd or golden retriever. She fully expressed her great love for the large carnivores at many of the world's great zoos. Because of her support for the Nation's oldest zoo in Philadelphia, she was given naming rights for a number of their collection, including a champion Bengal tiger that she christened NAROPI, an acronym using the first two letters of her four children's names. Known for her can do spirit, she always had a mind of her own, and was never afraid to speak it. But she consistently displayed a warmth and generosity toward people of all walks of life; she counted among her best friends carpenters and captains of industry, mechanics and medal winners, the chef at the lunch counter and the Chief of Plastic Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital where she had been a patient. She was justifiably proud of her distinguished heritage, but prouder still of the accomplishments of those she helped, and especially of her family. In addition to her husband, Ellice, she is survived by her daughter, Nancy Lloyd Hayward and her husband Richard Stephen Dunn Johnson of New York City; her two sons, Nathan Hayward III and his wife Marilyn Rushworth Hayward and Pierre duPont Hayward and his wife Martina Combs Hayward (all of Wilmington, Delaware); her son-in-law, Christopher George Lewis Jones of Hamden, Conn., widower to Rosa Hayward Jones who died in January 2006; and her "basketball team" of five grandsons, Nicholas Calder Lewis Jones of Charleston, S.C., Laird Reed Hayward of Wilmington, Nathan Hayward IV of Los Angeles, Bradford Lloyd Hayward and George Stewart Marshall Hayward, both of Wilmington. Her family want to express their heartfelt gratitude to the remarkable team of staff and nurses who have made such a difference in the quality of life which Rosa was able to appreciate in her final years, and who will continue to sustain Ellice in his grieving. A memorial service will be held at Christ Church, Greenville, Delaware later in January (an announcement will be published in this paper once plans are complete). Her internment will be private. Her family suggests gifts in her memory be made to The Nursing Program at the University of Delaware, the Delaware Humane Society, or the Department of Plastic Surgery at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.
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