William Baer Obituary

1939 - 2021

Showing up dressed in pink for his first public outing might not be how most men want to be remembered, but for William "Buddy" Baer, it was a proud moment! Buddy was the youngest of seven children, the older six being all girls. Thus when he was born during the heart of the Great Depression in rural southwestern Colorado, there were no "boy" clothes in the home, so they made do with what they had and the color just happened to be pink.

Buddy was born at the family home, quarried out of sandstone and which had once served as the area post office. He grew up with sisters by his side, teaching him to cook delicious meals, mend his torn garments, darn socks, crochet, embroider, and many other talents. But he was the apple of his daddy's eye. Buddy was born six years after the youngest daughter, Myrna, so was specially treasured in the family.

He spent many hours with his father on the family farm in McElmo Canyon at the base of Sleeping Ute Mountain. The farm consisted not only of traditional crops such as hay and cattle, but also boasted a large block of fruit trees and a sizeable garden. Buddy told of his mother, Willie Meadows Baer, getting up at the first sign of light and heading out to hoe weeds in the garden before it got hot. After a couple hours, she would come back inside, fix breakfast, then go back out to the garden for a few more hours. After lunch, she would load her 1937 Ford pickup with garden produce and fruit, drive the 12 miles of gravel-covered clay road into Cortez and sell the produce to her customers. Buddy remembered driving with his mother until well into the night hours so she could make all her deliveries, then back down the bumpy, rutted gravel road to home and sleep, only to do it all over again the next day.

Buddy learned the value of hard work and tenacity at the hands of his family, with those traits becoming an integral part of his character, remaining with him throughout his lifetime. After he graduated from high school, Buddy chose to attend Pacific Union College (PUC) in Angwin, California, to further his education. He drove his 1957 Ford automobile to and from California. He told of a time he was very tired somewhere in the desert of Arizona, so he pulled over to take a nap. When he awoke, he was very startled to find himself cruising down the highway in his car, full speed ahead, heading for California! After that, whenever he stopped for a break, he was sure to push the car keys deep into his pocket before taking that snooze.

One day waiting for class to start, he was visiting with some friends about a letter he'd just received from home. He told them, "My mother just wrote and told me my mare had a colt!" This announcement caused the petite blonde in front of him to turn around and ask if she could see the colt. He had to tell her the mare and foal were in Colorado so it wouldn't be possible to show her. But as it turned out, that interaction was the beginning of the story that led to Buddy proposing to that pretty lady, named Thais, and spending 58 married years together.

After graduating from PUC, Buddy and Thais moved to McElmo Canyon to begin married life. They lived in the upper story of the same sandstone rock house where he was born. The modern marvel of electricity had only become reality a few years earlier when the McElmo Canyon farm community struck a deal with the power company whereby the farmers would install power poles if the company would string lines to bring electricity to canyon residents.

Five years after returning to Colorado, Buddy received a calling to God's work as the nursery manager at Laurelwood Academy in Oregon. He and Thais loaded their possessions onto a moving truck, bundled up their two children, Aileen and Emil, and headed for life in the Pacific Northwest. Ultimately, they ended up putting down roots in Walla Walla, Washington, when Buddy accepted a job as head mechanic of the Walla Walla College Farm in December 1969. His upbringing from McElmo Canyon made him very qualified for this position and Buddy and his family thrived on the dairy farm.

Buddy's responsibilities not only included mechanic's duties, but also delivering calves, doctoring sick cows, feeding calves and cows and breeding cows with artificial insemination. He received an early introduction to technology by learning about computers when the farm embraced a specialized system in the early 1980s by installing computerized feeding so each cow would have its own specifically portioned serving of grain while she was being milked.

Buddy easily related to college students working on the farm and often brought home the milking and feeding crew for breakfast on Sabbath morning. With his sisters teaching him the fine art of cooking, it was only natural that he came up with the all-time classic breakfast that has become tradition in more than one household. He fed the crew homemade waffles topped with strawberries and a large slab of College Dairy vanilla ice cream! Many of those former students still reminisce about those delicious breakfasts.

As his children grew and became more interested in community and church activities, Buddy became very active in the Pathfinder organization, and became ""Mr. Pathfinder"" to many, many club members, families, churches and organizations. Some of his favorite activities to teach club members included leathercraft and knot tying. He began as a Director with the newly formed Waiilatpu Pathfinder Club in the 1970s and progressed to Blue Mountain District Coordinator position by the early 1980s, organizing district events and mentoring other club leaders.

Other community services for which Buddy willingly volunteered included teaching first aid for the Red Cross and driver's education to novices trying to achieve the skills to obtain their license.

He was a dedicated member of the Village Seventh-day Adventist church and enjoyed visiting members who could not attend services, conducting Bible studies at assisted living facilities throughout the Walla Walla Valley and taking communion to members unable to attend church.

Few people could tell stories better than Buddy. Basing the stories upon the childhood happenings of he and his sisters, Buddy spun tales of Little Sue, Uncle Jake and Aunt Bess not only for his own children, but for his grandchildren, nieces, nephews and any other children who loved to hear a good story.

In 1990, Buddy's employment took him to join the Coffey Communications team where Thais was employed. He spent 25 years as the company's maintenance man. Buddy and Thais were avid gardeners and loved sharing the bounty of their efforts with co-workers. Whatever the season, Buddy would show up, grinning ear-to-ear, with strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, fresh onions, corn, melons or whatever happened to be in season at the time.

After both retired, Buddy and Thais continued to spend lots of time gardening and sharing with friends and neighbors, enjoying special moments with each person they encountered. Last July, Thais passed away, leaving Buddy by himself for the first time in nearly 60 years.

Surviving Buddy are his children, Aileen (Glenn) and Emil (Violy); grandchildren Patrick, Katie Rose and Katie Ann; sisters Lorna and Myrna and many, many nieces, nephews, cousins and other family. A special note of thanks to our friend Rose for her willing and ready caregiving, nephew David and his wife Lisa for their all-in love and care of Buddy, and to Wheatland Village for going the extra mile to make him feel welcome and appreciated.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, June 30, at Fiesta Mexicana in Cortez, at 6 p.m. This will be an opportunity to celebrate as well as share favorite memories and stories of lives touched by this Colorado farm boy.