Dorothy Jane Baird

Her Father was Harry Klingens.
Her Mother was Estella Bell Klingens
Her Sister was Viola Black
Her Husband was Elmer James Pershing Baird.
Her Daughter and only child was Gay Lynn Edwards
She has three grandchildren. Robin Mannino, Cary Edwards and Chrystal Cottrell
Her great grandchildren are Lindsey Mannino, Marnie Mannino, Michael Cottrell, and Nicholas Edwards.

She was born in Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.

As a child Dorothy was a prodigious student. She took pride in the fact that she was able to skip a grade in elementary school. She loved words and spelling. She loved to play word games even after she went blind later on in life. She loved learning. She loved to read and later loved her subscription to Books on Tape.

Dorothy was also interested in travel. As a young woman she traveled to Europe with her mother. Later, she mostly dreamed about travel and took short trips within the United States.

Dorothy worked in her early twenties. She had various jobs. She was a short order cook for a very short time. She did some office work. She did some work in a doctors office. She was a civil servant at one time. She was mainly a housewife.

Dorothy always wanted to be a teacher and thought of herself as such.

She was married to Elmer in her early twenties. They made a long life together. They moved from Chicago to Colorado while they were young. They lived on Marion Street, then Fulton Street as they raised their daughter Gay Lynn. Later they moved to Carson street to live behind Gay Lynn and their grandchildren who lived on Cimarron Street.

One thing she loved to hear Elmer (Grandpa) say was, "No sweat, don't worry about it."

Dorothy was a great support to Gay Lynn and her grandchildren. She allowed the grandchildren to stay with her for before and after care while Gay Lynn went to work.
She would make breakfast and she always had an after school snack ready to eat. She made yogurt from scratch; gram crackers and milk were always ready.

Dorothy and Elmer opened bank accounts for each of their grandchildren.
Dorothy worked to teach her grandchildren how to save money. She was also very generous; giving support and gifts of money to her daughter, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Dorothy gave each of her grand children money for a college fund.



Dorothy lived for 93 years.

Her old age is a testament to her character.

She was stubborn. "It's my way or the highway" was said about her recently.

She suffered a stroke in her mid forties. This left her with some paralysis and blind in her left eye. She persevered and regained her ability to walk. She prided herself on how far she would walk or how many miles she would put on her stationary Exercycle. She wore out a few exercycles. She became very aware of healthy food choices and deeply concerned about her weight. She loved flax seeds.

She worked very hard to take care of herself, her home and her finances as she lived independently after Elmer passed in 1978.
She lived alone in an apartment for several years.

In 1993, Dorothy lost the vision in her right eye caused by endophthalmitis leaving her completely blind with no light sensitivity.
She moved into her daughters house and lived there for a few years.
In the late 90's Dorothy moved into assisted living. She lived in a few places before settling down at Canterbury Gardens. She regained her independence for several more years, learning to walk with a cane, and then a walker. She would walk back and fourth from her apartment to the cafeteria.

In 2011, Dorothy came to live at Garden Terrace where she was cared for and lived for the rest of her days. In her time at Garden Terrace, her personality began to emerge. With every visit to Garden Terrace, her caregivers would tell another story about how she made them laugh and they would say she was a great lady.

Dorothy would often tell her care givers that they were beautiful.

One care giver said that when she asked for Dorothy's permission to do something for her Dorothy replied, "Okay, but you have to kiss me first."

Dorothy had a very active imagination and a propensity to talk. She enjoyed, commanding attention and being listened to very very much. Dorothy was great at making connections between the most desperate things because she loved to talk. Dorothy always loved to talk, her whole life long.

She often talked about Chicago, family there and people she once knew and missed.

She was able to paint vivid pictures with her imagination, wit and words. On one visit she painted a picture of a beautiful banquet just sitting on the table a few feet away. Even though we were clearly in an empty visiting room, her great grandson exclaimed. "I want some!"

She portrayed herself as a grand old lady, well traveled, well connected, and educated.
Her care givers once asked if she was a famous teacher from another country. They asked, "What country is she from?" Dorothy (Grandma) sometimes would create and speak with an imaginary accent from an imaginary place.

She was a Christian and belonged to Montclair United Methodist Church.

Her favorite perfumes were green apple and lily of the valley.

One of her favorite hymns was In the Garden.

We love you Dorothy.

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