Elizabeth A. Laidlaw probably knew too much about cancer. Just as she was being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer herself, she was caring for her sister, who was living through the final days of lung cancer. But Mrs. Laidlaw had always been busy in the cause of others, and that sad week was no exception.

"Her big thing was helping people," said her son, Ryan Laidlaw, of Butler. "She dedicated her life to helping others."

Mrs. Laidlaw, of Butler, died July 18 at home from pancreatic cancer. She was 61.

Born Elizabeth Pepper on March 23, 1947, in Ford City, Mrs. Laidlaw was a graduate of Ford City High School. Although she graduated in 1969 from Mercyhurst College in Erie with a bachelor of arts degree in biology, she didn't decide to become a nurse until age 50.

She enrolled in the nursing program at Butler County Community College and graduated in 1997.

After graduation, Mrs. Laidlaw worked as a registered nurse at Passavant Retirement Community in Zelienople, starting in 1999.

She continued to work there until her diagnosis in 2007, but she always made her family her first priority.

Three times in her lifetime, Mrs. Laidlaw provided hospice care for other family members.

"When her sister's husband was dying of cancer, she went there and took care of him in his final weeks," Mr. Laidlaw said.

During the summer of 2006, Mrs. Laidlaw took care of her mother, who was believed to be dying, for several weeks. Her mother lived another nine months.

And then there was her sister, Jane Yurga, of Niles, Ohio. Mr. Laidlaw said his aunt died the same week his mother received her own diagnosis.

"That was just who my mom was," he said. "She was always helping someone."

His mother was proud of her Irish heritage, something she tried to instill in her children.

"My grandma was Irish, so we celebrated all the Irish holidays," Mr. Laidlaw said. "We always had to wear green and those 'Kiss Me, I'm Irish' buttons. In fact, we oftentimes looked like little leprechauns, we were wearing so much green."

She also enjoyed entertaining.

"Her house was her castle," said her son. "She loved it here and she loved to make dinners and have people over."

Mrs. Laidlaw was a member of St. Fidelis Church in Meridian.

In addition to her son, she is survived by two other sons, Patrick Laidlaw, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Daniel Laidlaw, of Butler; four sisters, Pat Shevchuk, of Cadogan, Armstrong County, Eileen Iskandar, of Northridge, Calif., Mary Donovan, of Marblehead, Mass., and Margaret Hrabovsky, of Ford City; a brother, Kevin Pepper, of Ford City; her friend and former husband, Keith Laidlaw; and four grandchildren.

The Bereavement Group of St. Fidelis Parish conducted a service Monday at the Geibel Funeral Home. A Mass was celebrated Tuesday morning at St. Fidelis Church, Butler. Burial followed at Greenlawn Burial Estates, Mount Chestnut.