The John Laing Memorial Courtyard
John Laing was a member of the Rochester Aardvarks in the late 1970s and 1980s. He was a devoted resident of Rochester, NY, where he set down roots in the 19th Ward neighborhood and enjoyed a successful thirty-year career at Xerox. John is remembered for his love of hockey, Buffalo Bills, and rugby. When he passed away on April 14, 2021, at the age of 75, John bequeathed the Rochester Aardvarks Rugby Football Club money for the development of a team clubhouse. The team is unbelievably touched by John’s generosity and love for the Aardvarks.
The team is many years from having the resources to build a clubhouse. The executive committee of the team decided that a better way to honor John was to use the funds to create the John Laing Memorial Courtyard. This brick courtyard will be a way for the team to honor John and those who helped build the club to what it is now. There will be an engraved boulder naming the courtyard in John’s honor. Engraved bricks will honor the benefactors who helped fund the purchase of Aardvark Park, the members of the Aardvark Hall of Fame, and recipients of the Greene King Award for service to the club. In addition, club members, family, and friends will be able to purchase bricks as a way to honor others while raising funds for the continued development of Aardvark Park.
Honor your rugby achievements, commemorate your time with the Aardvarks, and support your team with a brick in the John Laing Memorial Courtyard. The engraved bricks, placed in the courtyard at Aardvark Park, are also the perfect way to honor a loved one or teammate or to celebrate your rugby career.
For a minimum contribution of $100 or more to the Rochester Aardvarks Rugby Football Club, you will receive one 4” x 8” brick with a personalized inscription of your choice. Brick orders are accepted year-round and placed in the courtyard twice a year, in the Spring and Fall.