Frances A. Baird, 91
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Frances Ann Baird, 91, died April 12, 2010, at Sweet Brook Care Centers, where she had resided since July 2006. She was the aunt of Carol Umlauf of Williamstown.
Born in Freeport, N.Y., on Jan. 5, 1919, she was the youngest daughter of Henry W. and Frances McCarthy Baird.
Ms. Baird was considered a loving, colorful personality who truly liked all those she met and always made people feel valued and special, said her family. Her kindness to people and animals was legendary. Never a complainer, she often reminded her niece, who may have admitted on occasion suffering "a bad day" that "any day you could get up and walk around was a great day!" even as she could not walk.
She enjoyed her years as Sweet Brook. She collected pictures of the staff's children and pets and always asked about them by name. In return, their personal gestures — from holiday decals to trip mementos to gifts of scarves and hats — enriched her life immensely.
Besides her niece, she leaves another niece, Gail Solomon of Queensbury, N.Y.; a son, David Starcyk and his wife, Kim, and two grandchildren, Liam and Finn, all of Los Angeles; her sister-in-law Evelyn Baird, also at Sweet Brook; and six nieces and nephews, Pease, Sally and Ann Umlauf, Rebecca, Elizabeth and Nathan Solomon, their spouses and significant others, all of whom found her delightful, unconventional but always interested in their life pursuits.
She was predeceased by a brother, Henry Baird, and a sister, Charity Baird.
FUNERAL NOTICE — Ms. Baird was cremated at her request. There will be no services but, rather, a hope from the family that we live our lives as consciously and caring, to exhibit the example she put forth for us in treating all with kindness, forgiveness and love. The family would also like to express its appreciation for the staff at Sweet Brook. Their care reached so many times beyond what many would have expected.