John Hird, Jr.

John Ainsworth Hird Jr., 91, of South Orleans passed away on April 3, 2012.

He was born Oct. 19, 1920, in Clifton, N.J., to the late John Ainsworth Hird and Millicent Harrison Hird. He grew up in Montclair, N.J., and graduated from Montclair Academy.

John entered Lafayette College in the class of 1943, where he excelled on the ice hockey team. World War II interrupted his studies when he enlisted in the army, crossing the Atlantic twice by ship and serving in Europe and North Africa. He was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star for bravery in battle firing antiaircraft artillery. He graduated from Lafayette after returning from the war, in 1947.

He married Doris Anne Bent in 1947 when he worked at American Surety Corp., and they settled in Great Notch, N.J., where they raised two daughters, Pamela and Deborah, and a son, John. He coached youth baseball, volunteered extensively, and was active in their church. They later moved to Bernardsville, N.J., in 1972. He worked at Kemper Insurance for more than 20 years as a chartered property and casualty underwriter (CPCU), and upon retirement moved to South Orleans, Mass., in 1986.

John was an unpretentious, unassuming, and uncommonly kind man who was always willing to help and never asked nor expected anything in return. An honest man of quiet dignity, John was a true gentleman in every sense of the word, who never had a bad word to say about anyone. He enjoyed being active in the outdoors, loved playing tennis, biking, and travel. He loved all things near the ocean, including racing sailboats on Long Beach Island, N.J., recreational sailing, kayaking, surfcast fishing, and spending time with his friends and family at the beach.

John was predeceased by his younger sister, Selina Hird Taylor. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Doris Anne Bent; three children, Pamela and her husband Richard, Deborah and her husband Dan, and John III and his wife Sharon; and five grandchildren: Ryan and his wife Dana, Katherine, Kelly, William and Samuel. Words cannot describe how much he will be missed.