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1936 Richard 2021

Richard Walter Baer

June 30, 1936 — April 11, 2021

Richard Walter Baer passed away peacefully at home on Sunday April 11th, 2021 at the age of 84.
He was born in Denver, Colorado to Oscar and Annabel Baer on June 30th, 1936. He was the oldest of four children, with siblings Alvin, Larry, and Carol Ann (died at birth). His family moved around a lot and later settled in Salt Lake City. He graduated from Olympus High in 1955. He enlisted in the U.S. National Guard before graduating high school and served his country faithfully.
After several months of questioning his beliefs, Richard discovered the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He went on a church history tour that a friend recommended, which solidified his newfound faith. Richard was converted to the Church on April 21st, 1959.
He married Alice Darlene Freeman on September 2nd, 1960, and they were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on June 7th, 1961. They had only dated for a month before he decided to ask for her hand in marriage. They were blessed with six children: Marlin (Connie), Mark (Astrid), Debbie Canova (Jerry), Laurie Mudrow (Ray), Christine Kossin (Mark), and Michael (Lorna), along with 22 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
As a very young boy, he saw an electric train running around a Christmas tree in a store window. When he returned home, he told his mother he wanted a train with three tracks for Christmas. He became an avid train enthusiast from a young age and was able to complete his lifelong dream to run the steam engines on the Heber Creeper trains in Heber City, Utah.
Richard attended the University of Utah for a year, studying electrical engineering. He then made the decision that engineering was not his passion, but he still wanted to work with electrical equipment. The following summer he went to work for the U.S Bureau of Reclamation as a surveyor on multiple dam sites. He continued his career at Sperry Utah Engineering Laboratory as an engineering assistant. His first assignment was working on the Sergeant Missile arming device. In 1971, he landed a job at the Federal Aviation Administration Center. He spent the remainder of his career maintaining and upgrading the computer systems that regulated aviation travel.
He loved being outdoors and going on camping trips. He enjoyed sitting back and listening to the water flowing down the stream, the wind blowing through the trees, and the absolute silence of the night. There were times when there was no sound in the daytime and he found wonder in that serenity.
Throughout their married life, Richard and Darlene loved to travel. This interest led them to take up square dancing and serve as club presidents and in other officer positions. After retiring her petticoats and his bolo ties, they joined the Ute Saltshakers Good Sam’s camping group and continued to travel many places serving as good Samaritans. They received the Golden Beehive Award for their many years of service.
Dad taught us how to make the well-loved Baer Family homemade ice cream. We learned that the best ice cream came from the old ice cream maker. It was always a treat to see how quickly dad “volunteered” to clean the paddles the good old-fashioned way: he always licked them clean and usually ended up with traces of ice cream on the end of his nose. He had no shame. It was a sacrifice for the family he had to make.
Richard is preceded in death by his father and mother Oscar and Annabel Baer, and his sister Carol Ann.
There will be a viewing on Thursday, April 15th, 2021 from 6 – 8 pm at the Bridlewood Ward Building, 165 W. Monarch Drive, Bountiful, UT.
A graveside service will be held on Friday, April 16th, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Wasatch Lawn Memorial, 3401 S. Highland Drive, SLC. (Enter the cemetery from the north entrance on 3300 South). Services will be live streamed on Russon Mortuary & Crematory Facebook page and www.russonmortuary.com.
We hope the rails and trails are spectacular in heaven! Love you Pa Baer many BAER hugs!

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