'An example of who we should be.' Funeral details released for Springfield dentist
Jul. 8—Funeral services have been set for a Springfield dentist of 30 years who died suddenly earlier this week.
Dr. William Ayers Lord, 56, died on Monday after experiencing a "heart event" while on vacation, his wife, Michelle Lord, said. Visitation is scheduled for today from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Littleton & Rue Funeral Home and Crematory, and a service is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church.
His sister, Amy Lord Hearlihy, described her brother as one of the most giving people who liked to practice random acts of kindness, including paying for people at restaurants.
"He had such an incredible impact on not only us as a family, but the community at large," Lord Hearlihy said. "I mean he was probably one of the most giving people in the entire world."
The dentist was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, before moving to Pittsburgh, where he grew a love for the outdoors, according to his obituary. He moved to Springfield with his family in 1978.
Lord graduated from Springfield North High School, where he was the Panther mascot and a champion of school spirit, in 1985.
According to Lord's obituary, the dentist was an avid sports fan, promoting spirit at various games. While studying biology as an undergraduate and dental surgery for his doctorate at Ohio State University, he auditioned to be the Brutus Buckeye mascot. Although he was unsuccessful, Lord "remained an avid Buckeye fan and could be found on football Saturdays loudly cheering on his beloved team."
The dentist chose his field to help people rather than to make money, Lord Hearlihy said. She said in one case, a young patient had a sports-related dental emergency on a Saturday, and Bill Lord immediately helped him even though he wasn't his patient.
Michelle Lord said her husband was "the most wonderful father in the entire world" to their four kids.
"His kids meant everything to him. All he wanted to do was make a world for them that was a good world, and so he gave to his community," Michelle Lord said.
Bill Lord supported any and all Clark County sports and county groups like 4-H before and after his children were involved, his wife said. He was also in the Oral Health Coalition, the girls soccer coach for Shawnee schools, taught continuing education classes for dental hygienists, hosted externs in his practice and was the president of the Mad River Dental Society for about 20 years, Lord Hearlihy said.
The Lord siblings lost their father at a young age, which had an impact on Bill Lord, making him want to leave the world a better place than when he found it, Lord Hearlihy said.
St. Catherines Island in Georgia and Lakeside, Ohio, were sacred spaces for the dentist, Michelle Lord said, and their family tried to go there as much as they could. She said she grew up in Savannah, Georgia, close to the island, and her husband spent a lot of time in Lakeside.
The Lord family had a passion for music, performing in several local musical productions together, Lord Hearlihy said. His favorite production was Music Man.
Bill Lord had a great sense of fun and enjoyed laughing and pranking his family by scaring them, Lord Hearlihy said. He would bring bowls of candy with his dentistry business cards mixed throughout backstage at shows at the Summer Arts Festival as a joke.
"He was giving candy (like), 'I want to be a good dentist afterwards, but I want to keep your blood sugar up because you're working hard on the play,'" she said.
Michelle Lord said her husband will be in the community long after his death because he touched so many people's lives. His sister said that many people are feeling down that Bill Lord is no longer physically here, but his spirit remains.
"I think that his life is just such an example of who we should be, and he used to say that the way that people live on is to live in people's hearts," Lord Hearlihy said.
