Nancy was the wife of my first cousin, Henry Baird. From the first time we met, Nancy felt like a close friend and fit right into our family. She was easy to talk and laugh with and always made you so comfortable and  right at home!

So sorry we will not be able to attend the celebration of Nancy’s precious life. Our family is thinking of you all and praying it will be a special time of remembrance for family & friends in Rockledge .

Love & hugs,

Phil & Sheila Brown, Doris & Al Bohl and Edith Gibson 

To Nancy’s loving family and friends

I knew Nancy almost exclusively from a year we worked together following high school. She was a cashier and I was a bag boy at Publix in Rockledge, Florida.

It is a measure of her effervescent personality that I remember her vividly after some fifty-three years. I recall that whenever I was working with her somehow the tedium of my tasks seemed to vanish and the possibilities for actual fun on the job would emerge. She was witty, quick, and insightful.  And she was consistently congenial to all.

May her memory be a blessing. And know that those who knew her, even from long ago, share in your loss. 

Henry, I am so very very  sad and sorry that Nancy has passed.  She was the most caring and loving person I have ever known.  She will be sorely missed by all who knew her. Sending prayers  to You, Erin, Michael, Kelly and Mom.

 Anne Everly

The world has lost one of its brightest lights. Nancy Baird you will be so missed.

So many memories:

early morning walks in San Pedro and you saying you couldn’t keep up because I was so much taller than you;

sandwiches from the Busy Bee;

daiquarita’s (because you could never remember whether your liked margaritas or daiquiri’s) in the cul de sac;

partying in Beverly Hills/Colorado Springs at all the fancy military galas;

letting our kids take care of Shadow even before they were old enough to actually do it (both our boys remember your kindness);

phone calls from beaches around the world;

hours long phone calls and lengthy texts to catch up periodically;

our final visit in Colorado;

miss you more than I can say,

Patricia

Who knew that when the Baird’s moved in down the street from me when I was 15 years old that it would turn into a life long friendship with the entire family. I always call Mrs Baird “like my second mom” as the Baird family was and is truly my second family. I spent countless hours as a teenager wandering down to their house and eating their elfkins and helping myself to their home, their pantry and their friendships. Mrs baird was so welcoming and so comfortable to be around and I truly felt like I could always talk to her and be welcomed in their family. Most of my high school memories include a Baird in there somewhere! 

Off to college we went and a few short years later out to Colorado I came on a road trip with Erin, mr Baird and my mom. Having my family living on the East coast still, the Baird family was my “Colorado family” and I once again found myself helping myself to their pantry, love and friendship. Mrs Baird would spend all the time we needed talking to us and helping us navigate “life as adults.” They would come up often when I lived with both Kelly and Erin to help us with house projects thanks to Erin’s never-ending creative ideas! I witnessed first hand the love between mr and mrs Baird during those times. The bickering bc Nancy didn’t feed Henry lunch in time and he was exhausted/cranky from project management all day :)The back rubs Nancy would give Henry and her kids (and me) which were always given a bit too hard as she got her frustrations out! I visited them often in the springs over the years as well. Always feeling welcome. Always feeling a sense of comfort when I was there. 

As the years passed and I no longer lived with Erin or Kelly the time between chats and visits became less frequent. But no matter how much time passed it was like no time passed at all. 

I was fortunate enough to visit with mrs baird over this past thanksgiving break as anytime Michael was stateside and the family was together I made sure to plan a visit. I wish I knew that was the last time I would see Mrs Baird as I would have told her how much I loved her and appreciated her and was thankful for her guidance, love and support over the years. And the laughs! She was one funny lady and I will miss her and my visits with her more than she could ever know. 

With love and fond memories,

Erin (McTigue) Wilkerson 

I am so sorry to hear of Nancy's passing. I grew up with Brenda and knew her family as part of our family's growing up years in Rockledge, Florida. Nancy was a classmate of my eldest brother Robert. I know she will be missed greatly and I offer my condolences on behalf of the Kernan family. Prayers and blessings to each of you during this time.

Patrick and Mary Kernan McCarthy

Oh, how I will miss you. To know I will never again see you sitting at the office, trying to make a decision about booking a flight, buying a gift, deciding when to leave, or where to go is hard, but I will feel you there, every time I walk by where you would sit.

I may never hear you say “Oh, Sheryl” again, but I can still hear you saying it to me. I will miss your smile, your laughter, our conversations and watching you cherish every moment of caring for your family and friends.

Thank you for your wonderful friendship, hospitality, laughter, life’s conversations, but mostly your love.

You will be forever missed, but loved longer.

Until we meet again my friend.

Nancy, I remember the delight I felt when I met you in 1985. Five people, 3 under six, during the winter, living in a rented, furnished 2 bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs. We were waiting on the construction of our home in Briargate to be completed. I was 25 and I was lonely. One night around 10 pm, what had previously been silent nights changed. Suddenly, in the apartment upstairs, there muffled giggles and shrieks mixed with what any parent would recognize as multiple tiny feet and adults shushing. Surely, there were a least as many children as I had! The next morning our families simultaneously exited our apartments. Nancy, Henry, Erin, Micheal and Kelly descended the stairs. Parked right in front of my door, pared side by side, were our almost identical mini vans. Indeed, there were as many of you as there were of us.  And, you were also there, waiting for your home under construction to be finished, just a few blocks from where ours was being built.  A Godsend.

I count that day, when I met you Nancy and your beautiful family as one of the most fortuitous days of my life. Nancy you were ( and remain) a godsend friend. I had always had difficulty making friends yet, I felt that acceptance immediately, Your friendship was like air to me. I cannot count the number of times over the years that you helped me breathe. You, Nancy were the person I could tell anything and feel safe. That safety didn’t come from your ability to say the perfect thing, or even do anything in particular. You were safe because you didn’t have to like or agree with me to love me in such a pure way that my soul felt like it had a home. It is said that friends are ones chosen family. I was blessed to be chosen by you Nancy. I imagine there are countless others who have had their own experience of home with with you too.

We laughed! A lot! As the years passed, we shared our hopes and dreams and our disappointments and inside jokes. We encouraged each other and listened and laughed and cried when we had to eat crow or because what we thought best for others was set aside and sometimes proven wrong. We helped each other hold on. And,  we helped each other let go. Even through multiple moves for each of us we remained fast friends. Even when life got crazy and we didn’t talk daily, we managed to remain close when far away.

Nancy, more than once you shared with me how you felt that you had never done anything with your life. That you felt you didn’t make a difference. Never accomplished anything. Yet, here we are, everyone visiting this page, everyone making plans to come together to celebrate your life and morn your physical absence. We are all products of you, Nancy Baird. We were your work in this world. Loving us in all our differences and flaws, meeting us where we  are is a huge accomplishment not many in this world could or would achieve. Often those who are truly beautiful, truly great cannot see themselves clearly. Nancy, you saw us. You had a hard time seeing yourself.  Nancy,  you lived this truth so eloquently written in The Little Prince: "It is only in the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Nancy you had eyes for the essential. Your heart held mine so gently. I know mine wasn’t the only one.

Nancy your light shines on. It is not gone. It lives on in your children and grandchildren. Your light lives on through Henry, your siblings and extended family. You live on through your friends and even in the people who met you that you never knew their names.  I look for your bright shining light among the stars now. I believe  this loosely quoted passage from― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in The Little Prince, to be true of you Nancy. “In one of those stars you shall be living. In one of them you shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars are laughing. When I look at the sky at night my sorrow is comforted. I am content that I have known you. You will always be my friend.” 

Nancy, may the seeds you planted in all of our hearts be watered and warmed and grow by our ability to take what you have given us and allow it spread and to bloom in the world. May you see the exquisite fruits of your presence in this world continue on in our lives. May the connections we all felt with you remain always.  Nancy, the unexpected blessing of having you missing from this earth is that now none of us need to wait our turn to talk to you on the phone! We now have direct lines  with no call waiting, no voicemails and no interruptions! I know I am not the only one happy about that little nugget of joy.

Nancy you had a favorite quote from Mother Teresa’s “ANYWAY poem. “Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway. ( and your favorite part) You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway.”

Nancy, you saw the light of God in each of us. Living that faith was between you and God. We were the lucky beneficiaries. Thank you doesn’t cover my gratitude. I am hoping following your example might. I love you Nancy. Expect frequent calls!

I met Nancy, Henry and all of Erin’s family in 1999 when both Erin and I were in college.  I loved Erin’s family and Nancy was the sweetest mother I had ever met.  Fast forward to 2017 when I happened to be in Colorado Springs, I stopped by to visit.  I remember when she came to the door she gave me a big hug like I had just seen her yesterday.  She always treated me like family and the time didn’t change a thing.  She was the mother I think everyone wished they had.

I’m so sorry for your loss and pray your hearts heal.