Dr E. William (Bill) Laing

Ernest William “Bill” Laing, Jr, passed away on March 23, 2026, at the age of 91. Born October 17, 1934, in Berkeley, California to Ernest William Sr and Florence Laing, Bill moved with his family to Eugene in 1946, where he attended Kelly Junior High School and then graduated from Eugene High School in 1952. In 1956, while attending the University of Oregon he married Shirley Mae Hargreaves. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology, Bill attended the Oregon Health Sciences University Dental School and, after graduating in 1962, began practicing general dentistry in Eugene. In his 34 years of dentistry, Bill served as president of the Lane County Dental Society in 1975, was awarded Oregon General Dentist of the Year in 1977, was recognized for his dedicated community service to children of Lane County and received numerous other accolades. Rotary International also recognized him as a Paul Harris Fellow.

Outside of dentistry, Bill was an avid fly angler and dedicated pheasant and duck hunter along with his brother Jerry and long-time friend Ron Willoughby, as well as an expert at running whitewater rivers in a drift boat, and an active member of the conservation community. He was a founding member of the McKenzie Flyfishers, serving as its president in 1969 and honored as Flyfisher of the Year in 1986 and 2004, and a life member of the Federation of Flyfishers (renamed Fly Fishing International). In 1977, he joined the McKenzie River Guides Association as an associate member. Bill enjoyed participating in local fly-tying expos, volunteering with the Salmon Watch program to teach middle school students about Chinook salmon and educating community members about the value of preserving river ecosystems and wild trout.

As a husband and father, he often took his young family on summer weekend camping trips to Davis and Hosmer lakes, to the family cabin on the McKenzie, and on annual spring excursions to Malheur Wildlife Refuge to observe birds and wildlife. For nearly 50 years, he took annual summer fly fishing excursions to Alaska, as well as occasional winter fishing adventures to tropical locations such as Belize, Christmas Island, and Campeche, Mexico. He captured many of his fishing adventures in a memoir, Waiting for the Hatch, Watching for the Rise, published in 2014.

Bill is survived by his wife of 69 years Shirley, sons Jeff (wife Christine) and Steve, daughter Amy Pendell (husband Norm), grandsons Thomas (wife Kaylee) and Alex Pendell, and four great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brother Jerry and sister-in-law, Sue Ellen Laing. In lieu of flowers, the Laing family invites donations in Bill’s name to the McKenzie River Discovery Center, PO Box 506, Walterville, OR 97489, or online at McKenzieDiscoveryCenter.org