103 and Counting: LFA Alumnus Eyes 105 | LFA News 103 and Counting: LFA Alumnus Eyes 105 Apr 15 2026 If you ask Bob Laidlaw ’40 about his LFA experience in the 1930s, he’ll tell you he doesn’t remember a lot of details. Then, he’ll turn around and recall his past with remarkable precision. Bob, now 103 years old, arrived at the Academy’s original campus in East Lake Forest for the start of his sophomore year of high school in the fall of 1937. The campus was, in his words, “a bunch of buildings,” and the school year didn’t begin until late September. Those buildings became home before long. A boarder in Remsen and later East House, Bob says he enjoyed his Academy experience. It was a place of Saturday morning classes and Sunday church services, of sports on Saturday afternoons and occasional train rides to Chicago for a meal at Blackhawk Restaurant, where bandleader Bob Crosby performed. It was an environment rich in social activities, including dances in the gym with girls from Ferry Hall. Classes kept him busy. While Latin wasn’t his favorite discipline, math was a different story. Bob enrolled in Edward Milne’s advanced math class his senior year, along with two or three other students, he recalls. Within two weeks, the others had dropped out; he was the only one left. “I was good at math. That’s where I shined a little bit,” he admits. Outside the classroom, Bob was a three-sport athlete – not very competent, he says – competing in football, hockey, and track. A sprinter, he also threw the javelin, sometimes alongside competitors who could launch it more than 200 feet. Graduation took Bob east to Dartmouth College for two years. During the Second World War, he joined the United States Naval Reserve, where he learned to fly. He served in the Navy Air Corps from June 1942 until December 1945. He completed his college degree at the University of North Carolina and stayed on an additional three years to earn his law degree. After decades working for his family’s textbook publishing company, Laidlaw Brothers, Inc., Bob and his brother sold the business and invested the proceeds wisely. Philanthropy remains important in his life. A supporter of his colleges and of the Academy Fund at LFA, Bob downplays his decades of generosity. “I’m not a person that’s set up to do major donations,” he admits. “As long as I’m alive, you will be given some small amount every year.” Like many centenarians, Bob’s been asked countless times about the secret to his longevity. His answer is simple. For years, he spent summers in northern Michigan walking four miles every morning to retrieve his newspaper—two miles out, two miles back, over steep hills. That, and his diet has been pretty good, he says. And for a number of years he didn’t drink at all. Bob celebrated his 103rd birthday in March 2026 at numerous gatherings with his children and extended family in North Carolina. Now he’s setting his sights on his next milestone: 105. Bob Laidlaw is a proud 1940 graduate of Lake Forest Academy. He lives independently in a retirement community in Southern Pines, North Carolina. He was the commencement speaker at Lake Forest Academy’s graduation ceremony in 1976 and has supported the school for more than 60 years. When asked about advice for LFA students today, Bob says he’d offer the same advice he shared in 1976 (excerpted below): “The message is simple, but in practice, can guarantee you a more satisfying life. These things will apply to relations with your family, your friends, your future employment, and everyone with whom you come in contact. “For lack of a better name, I call these the HAVE’s and the BE’s of living. HAVE enthusiasm BE dependable HAVE respect BE considerate HAVE courage BE involved HAVE confidence BE honest “I would like to emphasize that as you practice these few HAVE’s and BE’s, not only will you discover a more satisfying life for yourself, but it will reflect favorably on your parents and on this fine school.” Back to School News