Barbara Angelene "Angie" (Cortese) Laird

Angie Laird, 51, of Romeo, passed away on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at Cates Hospice House in Ocala, following a twenty-year battle with Multiple Sclerosis.

Angie was born April 9, 1971, in Midland, Texas. Her family moved to Romeo when she was 2.  There she learned to ride horses, and she and her friends would spend hours in their younger years riding from sunup to sundown.  She was baptized at an early age at Romeo Baptist Church. She attended schools in Dunnellon and graduated from Dunnellon High School.

Angie is the daughter of Tony and Jean Cortese.  She is also survived by her brother Rowland Cortese (Ellen) of Leverne, AL, two nephews, Dalton and Jaron Cortese, and her niece Katie Cortese Williams.  She is preceded in death by her son Reese Hatcher, who died in 2020.  She is the granddaughter of Edgar Markham and Dorothy Clemmons, and Madie and Dick Cortese. Her great-grandparents were Hardy and Maggie Markham, one of the original pioneer families of Romeo, and A.W. and Ruby Britt of Ocala.

In middle school Angie competed in rodeos, bare back riding and barrel racing.  She was active in FFA, raising hogs for the Marion County Youth Fair. She was “Country” when country wasn’t cool! She was very active on the Rainbow River with her group called the “River Rats.” She and her group were once called into the principal’s office where they produced their “sick notes.” Little did they know that the Riverland Newspaper was sitting there on the counter with their pictures on the front page in their bathing suits, taken on the day that they were absent from school supposedly due to illness.

Angie was a homemaker who enjoyed decorating and making flower arrangements that she gave away to others.  She was a gifted person who never fulfilled her creative ideas in business due to her illness.

A Memorial Service celebrating Angie’s life will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, January 7, 2023, at Roberts Funeral Home of Dunnellon, 19939 E. Pennsylvania Avenue.

The family suggests that in lieu of flowers, please make contributions to your favorite charity in Angie’s honor.