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.
