Carol Baer

Carol Elizabeth Baer of Candia, NH passed away on Sunday, February 28th, in her home after a three year battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

She was born to Edwin and June Stuckey on October 25, 1948. She was raised in Union, NJ, the eldest of four children, and was an active member of her local Methodist church as a child and young adult.

She attended Union High School in NJ and received her Diploma in Data Processing from Union County Technical Institute in 1968 and earned her Bachelor of Science in Management Studies graduating Summa Cum Laude from the College of Lifelong Learning in NH in 2002. Although Carol worked to live, rather than lived to work, her efficiency and organizational skills were evident to all in her role as project manager at various organizations over the years. In her later working years she also enjoyed working with colleagues whom she had known for decades.

Carol dedicated herself to serving God, her marriage, and raising her children. In 1969 she married John Baer and they moved first to Cape Cod, then Alaska, and finally settled in Candia, New Hampshire in 1979. Together they had three children: Christopher, Ryan, and Lesley. Her organizational skills were pronounced in her family as well as her work. She was known in her immediate and extended family for planning family get-togethers down to the last detail! Her infectious laugh was most often heard at family Christmas celebrations where she loved to play board games and host family members.

She did not consider herself creative, however, so many have benefitted from her beautiful homemade quilts which she made to celebrate new babies, commemorate loved ones, or capture a memorable trip. It is comforting to the friends and family who have received these quilts that we can remember Carol's kindness, thoughtfulness, and love in a tangible way.

The Baer house was notorious for opening its doors to people near and far. Carol and John's love for hospitality began with their children's friends, and expanded to international students, missionaries, and respite foster children. It became a sanctuary for those who needed a roof over their head, a Sunday lunch, or a listening ear. Carol was renowned for her wise counsel, unconditional love, and pragmatic perspective!

She was an active member of the Candia Congregational Church since becoming a member in 1973. She was integral in developing Lights on the Hill in 1996. She continued to co-manage this annual community Christmas celebration over the last twenty years. Carol served on various short-term missionary projects. She and John have supported the work of Samaritan's Purse since 2004 and served together on three of their Disaster Relief Projects in Florida and New Orleans, in addition to assisting at the Christmas shoebox warehouse in North Carolina.

A woman of deep Christian faith, Carol found God's presence in every day of her life. She will be greatly missed by her loving husband, John; her children and their spouses, Christopher and Jennifer, Ryan and Dorothy, and Lesley and Paul; her grandchildren, Ryan, William, John, Audrey, Michael, and Carson; her brothers Bruce and Richard; sister Karen and brother-in-law Henry; and her nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life memorial service organized by her family will be held at Candia Congregational Church on April 2, 2016 at 11:00am.

In lieu of flowers, Carol requested that memorial donations be made to:

Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation at: http://pulmonaryfibrosis.donorpages.com/Tribute/CarolBaer/

and to Samaritan's Purse at: https://www.classy.org/CarolBaer