Original: His father, W.G.R.M. "Ran" Laurie, was a medical doctor who also won an Olympic gold medal in the coxless pairs (rowing) at the 1948 London Games.
Simplified: His mother, Patricia Laidlaw, died when he was 29 and his father, W.G.R.M. "Ran" Laurie, was a doctor and an athlete who won the gold medal in Rowing 1948 in London.