Johanna Pauline Baird

Loving wife, mother, and “Omi”, Johanna Pauline Baird, passed away peacefully at her home in Ligonier, Indiana, on April 22, 2025. Johanna was born on January 11, 1938 in Worms, Germany, the daughter of Heinrich and Josephine (Pauly) Hammes. Her brother, Otto Hammes, preceded her in death, as did a great-grandchild, Dalton Gibson. Johanna has extended family in Germany including her brother’s three children: Heinz-Otto, Andreas and Sonya Fritsch.

On December 24, 1955, she married Billy Gene Baird, in Alzheim, Germany. They were married sixty-nine years in December. It was truly a love story. Though they were born and raised in different countries, they learned to speak each other’s languages fluently. There was a favorite song they identified with; it was Doris Day’s academy award-winning, Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be). As he was in the U.S. Army, the family was stationed at various locations in the United States and overseas until retirement in 1973. Hence, he was often away training or conducting operations, but she held the fort down. And when he served in Vietnam, the two wrote letters to each other every day. When her health failed, he was by her side and did everything possible for her to receive the best health care available and stay at home. Heartfelt thanks goes out to her niece, Betty Baird, for being her trusted and capable, home care provider. And next-door neighbors, son Cecil and his wife, Julianne, were a big help too, as was daughter Cindy with extended visits.

Johanna was a very meticulous homemaker and good cook but also the owner of Johanna’s Catering based out of Rome City. Over the years, she had done volunteer work, including the Red Cross and put her cooking skills to good use for special dinners that involved St. Gasper’s Catholic Church, for example. Johanna was a member of the Tri Kappa Sorority in Ligonier, and she and her husband have been members of St. Gasper’s in Rome City, St. Martin’s in Syracuse, and attended St. Patrick’s in Ligonier, with homebound services as of late.

In addition to her husband, Johanna is survived by four children: Victor Baird, Fort Wayne; Cecil Baird and his wife Julianne (Pardinek), Ligonier; Cindy Havert and her husband Timothy, Salem, Indiana; and Renee Rodenbeck and her husband Marvin, plus six grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. Visitation will be Thursday, April 24, 2025 from 12 noon to 2 PM at Yeager Funeral Home, 1589 Lincolnway South Ligonier, Indiana. The funeral service will be family only at 2 PM and interment will be at the Oak Park Cemetery in Ligonier.