EARLVILLE – Gilbert M. Laing, 66, of County Rd. 22, passed away unexpectedly at home on Sunday, May 4, 2008.
He was born Aug. 2, 1941 in Oneonta, a son of the late Merion and Cornelia Mabon Laing, and was a graduate of A.L. Kellogg High School in Tredwell. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1960 to 1964 during the Cuban missile crisis aboard the U.S.S. Little Rock. 
On June 26, 1966, Gilbert was married to Ann Bramley in Masonville. Mr. Laing was an accountant for the NYS Power Authority at the Clark Energy Center in Marcy until his retirement. He was a wonderful musician who played the banjo as well as other instruments, and whose passion was bluegrass music. Along with his brother, he started bluegrass festivals in Bainbridge, Oxford and the Norwich area in the 1980s.
Gilbert was a member of the American Legion Post #236 of Earlville. He was a former member and Past Master of the F&AM Lodge in Hobart.
Surviving are his wife, Ann; his children, Andrew and Lisa Laing of Lithia, Fla.; Suzanne and Christopher Buhner of Virginia Beach, Va.; Christine and Rob Fitzgerald of Rochester; sisters and brothers-in-law, Helen and John Bramley of Delhi; Joyce and Marty Freyer of Sidney; Linda and Neil Riddell of Otego; brothers and sisters-in-law, William and Doreen Laing of Bainbridge; Daniel and Sandy Laing of Louisville, Kent.; sister-in-law and her husband, Sylvia and Alan Mugglin of Bainbridge; brother-in-law and his wife, James and Maryon Bramley of Mulberry, FL; seven grandchildren, many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A graveside celebration of his life with military honors will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday in the Pine Grove Cemetery, Meridale.
Friends are invited to call at the Burgess & Tedesco Funeral Home, 10 S. Main St., Sherburne on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to the American Heart Assoc., PO Box 3049, Syracuse, NY 13220-3049; The Town Hall Opry, PO Box 62, Bainbridge, NY 13733; or the Quincy Square Museum, 37 West Main St., Earlville, NY 13332.