Mary Jane Baker Waldie
WALDIE, BAKER, HAMILTON BAKER, BOLENS
Posted By: Amanda Lensing (email)
Date: 6/30/2015 at 13:52:39
Mary Jane Baker Waldie, 65, of the Sheuyville, Iowa area, passed away Sunday, June 28, 2015, at the Iowa City Mercy Hospital - Hospice Care Unit.
Jane requested there be no services or visitation. She will be cremated with internment in Omaha, Nebraska at a later date.
Jane is survived by William A. (Bill) Waldie, Jr., her loving husband of almost twenty-five years. Other survivors include her brother, Frank C. (Buzz) Baker and his wife Terry Hamilton Baker of Rockford, Michigan; mother-in-law, Barbara Waldie of Omaha, Nebraska; sister-in-law, Ann Bolens and her husband Jim of Rockwall, Texas; her nephew, Scott Baker and his wife Rebecca and their two children of Burlington, Vermont; nephew, David Bolens and his wife Rachel and their two children of Rockwall, Texas; and niece, Jamie Bolens of Dallas, TX. She will be greatly missed by her dogs, Bella and Cozette. Jane was preceded in death by her parents, Frank C. Baker and Gladys E. Baker, and her father-in-law, William A. Waldie, Sr.
Born July 10, 1949 in St. Joseph, Missouri, Jane was the daughter of Frank C. Baker and Gladys E. (Miller) Baker. In St. Joseph, Jane attended John J. Pershing Elementary and graduated from Central High School in 1967. Her father was the Central High principal and her mother the women’s PE teacher. Jane was the salutatorian of her high school class and a member of the National Honor Society and the Girls Athletic Association.
Jane attended the University of Kansas and in 1971 received her Bachelor of Arts degree (with honors) in Elizabethan History. In her senior year, she was elected to the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society. While at KU, Jane was a four-year member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma (Omega Chapter) Sorority. She had a passion for Pre-Renaissance Italian Art, and following college she traveled and studied extensively in Italy with her best friend (and future maid of honor) Marti Stewart of Paris, France. Sharing her family’s passion for teaching, Jane remained at KU to earn her Master's Degree in Education. During the summers of her college years and early professional life, Jane traveled to college campuses around the country as an instructor for the National Cheerleading Association.
Jane began her post-graduate professional career in 1973 as a teacher of history and literature at Lafayette High School in St. Joseph, Missouri. She also sponsored the cheerleading squad and was the faculty’s union representative.
In 1982, Jane left teaching and ventured to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a career change (initially camping out at the home of Buzz and Terry Baker). She worked several retail jobs before gaining full time employment with Lease America (which eventually became a part of GE Capital). Jane served in several high level administrative roles, including supervising the integration of newly acquired leasing companies into GE Capital. She ascended to the position of Vice President before retiring in 2008.
After Lease America was purchased by Transamerica she met her husband Bill at work. They clicked immediately and became engaged after eight weeks. Jane and Bill were married October 6, 1990 at the Coe College Chapel in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They resided in the Iowa City area until they moved to their retirement house, south of Sheuyville, in August 2012. They enjoyed traveling, including fishing trips to Canada, spent many summers in Minocqua, Wisconsin with their extended Baker clan, cherished the company of friends and lived life to the fullest.
Jane made friends easily and many have remarked what a special and giving person she was. After returning home Sunday and immediately missing the sound of Jane’s laughter and loving presence, her husband remarked that “sometimes silence is not golden.”
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in the memory of Mary Jane Baker Waldie -- c/o Mercy Hospice Care (500 E. Market Street, Iowa City, IA 52245).
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
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