Catherine Esther Robinson Baj, our beloved mom, passed away
Wednesday, March 9, 2016, following a short illness. Mom was born in Beaver
County, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1928, to Milo Farrell Robinson and Rose
Tonkovich. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister; Jean; and her husband
of 56 years, Joe. She is survived by her daughter, Nina Jo Baj of Austin; her
son, Joseph A. Baj III of Houston; her sister, Virginia Calderwood and her
husband, Bob, of Homestead, Florida; her brothers-in-law, Keith Lemley of
Cleveland, Ohio and John Baj of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and numerous nieces
and nephews.
She grew up in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and Newton Falls, Ohio,
where she graduated from high school. Mom graduated from Geneva College in Beaver
Falls, Pennsylvania, in 1952 with a BA in English. She began her teaching
career of 33 years in Newton Falls, Ohio, and continued it in Beaumont, Texas, teaching
English. In Beaumont, mom taught at MacArthur Junior High, Odom Junior High and
Forest Park/West Brook High School until retiring in 1986.
Along the way, mom also worked for the University of Texas Library
and Browns School in Austin while dad was completing graduate work at the UT
Austin. Mom also earned an MA in English from Lamar University in 1974 and an
MEd in School Administration in 1983.
She married her husband Joe, who passed away in January 2009 just
short of their 57th wedding anniversary, in 1952. Mom enjoyed traveling with
dad during her retirement and was an avid reader. She also enjoyed a spot of
gardening and bird watching in her backyard. In her later years, mom
particularly enjoyed reading her newspapers daily and watching all three NCIS
series, Castle and Blue Bloods, and she loved watching action movies.
We would like to thank all of the ladies with Quality Care for being
such wonderful caregivers to mom, including staying with her during mom’s recent hospital stay in January. The ladies took
exceptional care of mom and her children are very appreciative. We also would like to thank all the doctors
and nurses with the ICU unit of Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital for their care during
mom’s hospital stay earlier this month, and we are most grateful to all of the
caring staff of Harbor Hospice for helping mom’s final days pass peacefully.
A gathering of Mrs. Baj’s family and friends will begin at 1:00
p.m. with her funeral service to follow at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, March 13, 2016,
at Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont. A private graveside service
will be held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Beaumont.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to
the Anayat House, P.O. Box 5934, Beaumont, Texas 77726-5934, which provides overnight
accommodations for family members of patients staying at hospitals in Beaumont.
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