Woman who gave out half a million hugs to soldiers has died

“On behalf of the Soldiers, Airmen, Civilians, and Families of III Corps and Fort Hood, I want to extend our honest condolences to the family of Mrs. Elizabeth Laird, known throughout Central Texas as ‘The Hug Lady.’ She has always been associated with Fort Hood for her dedication, support, and genuine care for our Soldiers, Families and Civilian employees”. Many soldiers can recall the exact day when they received a hug from her and still have the Psalm 91 card she would hand each one of them before deployment. She’d hug each one as they walked out the door. News 8 featured Laird in a story in November as numerous soldiers Laird hugged over the years stopped by to visit her at the hospital.

“She was always there when you were back too”. A GoFundMe account set up by her son, Richard Dewees, raised $94,000 for her medical expenses. She had wrapped her arms around thousands more since then.

In a 2011 profile of Laird, the Fort Hood Sentinel referred to her as “a bit of a celebrity to the soldiers”.

At Fort Hood, Texas, troops are remembering a very special woman named Elizabeth Laird, and the power of her hugs. “I was nervous because I had never been outside of the country and just lost my Grandmother that one hug made a huge difference that year, because it reminded me how my grandmother was”.

Angela Garcia of Killeen thanked Laird on the petition page. She hugged them again when they returned from overseas.

Public visitation will be from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home, 211 W. Ave. Laird was there during two of Garcia’s husband’s deployments and was the last person to hug her husband before he was killed in action in April 2011. B in Copperas Cove.

The memorial service is scheduled for January 3 at 3 p.m.at the Christian House of Prayer in Killeen.