Rose Marie Baer, 88, a long-time Terre Haute resident, died Aug. 11, 2013 at her home with her family by her side. She was the daughter of William and Mary Rose McDonald of Louisville, KY. She was a legal secretary in New York, NY, and lived in White Plains, NY, Pittsburgh, PA, and Indianapolis, IN, before marrying Robert Baer in 1948. The couple settled in Terre Haute in 1954 to raise their large family. When the youngest of her nine children entered kindergarten, Rose Marie decided to pursue a college degree, enrolling at Indiana State University. Blazing a trail for women of her generation and inspiring women of the next, she graduated magna cum laude in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in political science and minors in Chinese language and economics. She lent her talent and energy to local organizations and social clubs, including the Schulte Parents Club, Terre Haute Newcomers, Saint Patrick's Bridge Club, and the League of Women Voters of Vigo County, which she served as president. A life-long learner, Rose Marie was an avid reader, forward thinking, independent, progressive, and welcoming of others. She enjoyed culture and the arts and treated her family to performances at ISU Summer Theater for years. She kept up with technology and communications, from recording and sending reel-to-reel tapes to siblings in the 1960s, to communicating with grandchildren on Facebook and Skype. She took extreme pride in the accomplishments and endeavors of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, to whom she was known as "Mama Baer." Rose Marie's family and friends gravitated to her living room, arranging the chairs to form what was fondly called the "circle of love." Computers and other electronic devices were banned from the room, but an exception could be made in order to corroborate her point of view. Her spaghetti was legendary. She loved completing crossword puzzles in ink and making a grand slam in bridge. She hosted terrific family reunion picnics every summer in Terre Haute, and her annual post-Christmas "Phar-Mor" white elephant parties (the store went out of business, but the name stuck) reliably resulted in hours of raucous laughter. Rose Marie loved the Little Colonel series by Indiana author Annie Fellows Johnston, and was partial to the saying, "Like the sundial, I count only the sunny hours," used in those books. She told those she loved that "The time to be happy is now." She is survived by her husband, Indiana Air National Guard retiree Robert Maxwell Baer, with whom she celebrated 65 years of marriage earlier this summer. She was preceded in death by two sons, Andrew and Peter Baer. Survivors include: daughter Cathy Newport & son-in-law Paul Newport of Muncie, IN; son Robert Baer & daughter-in-law Martha Shelton of Terre Haute; son William Baer of Highlands Ranch, CO; son Charles Baer & daughter-in-law Susan Baer of Terre Haute; son Thomas Baer & daughter-in-law Lisa Baer of Terre Haute; son John Baer of Terre Haute; daughter-in-law Kimberly Cowden of San Diego, CA; daughter-in-law Carolyn Farmer of Flower Mound, TX; son Christopher Baer & son-in-law Matthew Greenberg of Chicago, IL; 19 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and beloved nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers the family requests that contributions be made to: Wabash Valley Community Foundation wvcf.com, Catholic Charities CatholicCharitiesTerreHaute.org or the charity of your choice. A Mass of Christian burial is scheduled for 11 a.m., Saturday, August 31 at St. Patrick's 19th & Poplar, Terre Haute. The family will welcome friends one hour before the Mass at the church. Funeral information is also available at CallahanandHughes.com.
