Elizabeth English Baird

Durham – Elizabeth “Bette” Baird, age 85, died on October 4, 2023. She was born in Richmond, VA on July 8, 1938, to the late Robert Tyler English. Jr. and Elizabeth Hodges Mann.

Bette’s interests in dolls and animals were sparked early on when she visited her grandmother in rural Kenbridge, VA and while living on a farm in Varina, VA. The cousins and other children played dolls among tree roots, and farm animals offered a smorgasbord of goats, mules, horses, and cattle. They raised and rode all of them. Growing up in Richmond, she palled around with a close-knit group of friends who remain close and loyal. They became active in Christian activities which expanded as they matured. She learned much from Richmond’s Union Theological Seminary missionaries and carried rich memories from then on.

After meeting her future husband, her world view expanded; and she learned to fly, to enjoy marine activities, and to travel. She embraced motherhood with gusto, eventually operating her own home day care facility. As our family grew, she greeted our new sons with open arms and much love. When her grandchildren and great grandchildren began to arrive, she greeted each with the love and caring that only a mother understands. Helping her family to thrive was her omnipresent calling.

When she carried her daughter to a ballet performance, Kathy was hooked and Bette helped her to pursue her dreams as a professional dancer. Bette became the costumer and a member of the board of directors of the Raleigh Civic Ballet, helping with every performance. She supported Kathy’s dream regardless of the cost to herself. She continued supporting the dreams of others as her grandchildren began to grow and sought their way.

Along the way, she started building miniature homes and related projects, and became a charter member and officer of the Raleigh Miniaturists Guild. She built several beautiful scale models of homes, room boxes displaying meaningful events of her life such as Kathy’s Christening Day, and historical interest projects. Her “Cabin Creek” home in the woods and her Victorian home have elicited remarks from viewers like, “Wow! I am inside that house” and “I’m really fishing on that pond.” It was her attention to details and realism that made her projects touch the sensitivities of others. Sadly; she did not quite finish one of her most meaningful projects - her “New England Country Church” which she decorated for Easter. As her faith in Christ matured, she used projects like this to be a beacon for others.

Her family traveled around the Eastern seaboard in its pop-up camper, visiting many historical and religious sites and other places of interest such as the Everglades, the Florida Keys, and Maine’s Deep Woods, once hunkering down in a Miami Beach campground during a hurricane. Camping in close proximity to wild animals sometimes caused her concern; but as long as the education and safety of her family trumped the risks, she was okay and enjoyed many encounters. Then she discovered sailing on Kerr Lake and became a competent sailor who especially enjoyed heavy weather sailing. Her marine interests expanded to power boating and finally to kayaking, which turned out to be her favorite mode. She enjoyed kayaking until three years ago when her health failed.

Bette was one of the most loving, kind, compassionate, gracious, and loyal persons anyone could ever hope to know. In her final conscious hours in the hospital, she expressed more concern for her family and her nurses than in her own painful plight. She had a beautiful strong faith that she modeled for others as she served us all. Her life was always centered around others, and she set a high bar for the rest of us.

Bette is survived by her husband William “Lynn” Baird; her daughter Kathy Grabowski and husband Walter; her daughter Elizabeth Nicks; her grandchildren Jennifer Smith and husband Daniel, Lindsey Burchell and husband Forrest, Emma and Kate Grabowski, Ryan and Christopher Page, and Tyler Turner; her great grandchildren Liam and Auden Burchell, and Jaxson and Oliver Smith; and her fur baby Jaley.

Bette was preceded in death by her parents, her brother William Randolph English, and her granddaughter Andrea Leigh Page.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, October 14, 2023 in the Chapel of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service with Rev. Jane Brannock officiating. A burial will follow in Pine Forest Memorial Gardens, 770 Stadium Dr; Wake Forest, NC.

Friends may visit from 1:00PM to 2:00 PM Saturday prior to the service in the chapel.

Memorial Contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; 262 Danny Thomas Place; Memphis, TN 38105.

The Baird family is under the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service. Online condolences: www.hallwynne.com – select obituaries.