Jean Baird: A Life

Jean Baird, former director of administration for the city of Wooster, died Sunday, April 19, 2009, after a two-year battle with lung cancer.

I had the chance to sit down and speak with her husband, Bill Baird, her son, Mike Baird, and her granddaughter, Lianne Martin, for a couple of hours on Monday, and it was an honor to hear how they spoke of Jean.

Bill talked about when he saw her for the first time. It was 1953, and she was walking into a class at Wittenberg College.

"She was drop-dead gorgeous," Bill said. He had never seen a woman like her. She was born in Maui, Hawaii, and was of Japanese descent. It took him about a month to ask her out on a date. He figured if he waited much longer, somebody else would ask her out. He thought if he were not careful, he would lose her to some other guy. So, he decided he would monopolize her time. It worked. For a while.

Jean's parents were very forward thinking, Bill said. Though Hawaii was just a U.S. territory when she was born, her father believed the island would identify more with the United States than with the Asian countries. So, her parents gave their children American names, told them they were Americans and they should identify with Americans.

When it came time for her to go to school, she went to an elementary school about 20 miles away, where the white executives of the pineapple and sugar operations sent their children. The school was more aligned with the English curriculum of the states.

When it came time to go to high school, her parents sent her to a school in Honolulu for the same reason. She was away from her family for four years.

When it came time for a college, Jean wanted to go to Northwestern University to study speech and hearing therapy, Bill said. However, the family did not know anybody in the Chicago area, so her father would not permit her to attend.

A friend from the states was visiting Jean's family, and her husband was a professor at Wittenberg College. She suggested Jean come to Ohio to study there.

So, Jean showed up at the college's front door, and she hadn't even applied or been accepted.

"What were they going to do," Bill asked. "They accepted her."

Everyone I talked to for the story, which will appear in Tuesday's edition of The Daily Record, spoke of her attention to detail, her organization, her ability to see things through, her accomplishments, her love of family and community.

When they heard about Jean's death they said it was a sad day and that she will be sorely missed.

She was 73.

p.s. Thanks to Deb Mosier (@waynecountygirl on Twitter) for the photo of Jean.