Carole-Margot (Baldwin) Bleecher (1932-2016)

BLEECHER, BALDWIN, CASTAGNE

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 9/3/2016 at 20:32:41

From Stevens Memorial Chapel obituary, Ames, Story County, Iowa:

Born May 22nd, 1932, in Queens, NY, she was given the name Carole-Margot Baldwin. But, that's never the name that she went by; to all that knew her, she was called, "Baba". Born to Caroline Castagne and Paul Baldwin, she was the 6th generation artist in her family, along with her brother Kenny Baldwin. She went on to earn a full ride scholarship to The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. But, having learned how to sew and know quality fabrics from her mother, she left after six months, at the age of 17, and started her own company, "Baba Originals". In a very short period of time, she made a name for herself in the fashion industry. She designed the first Technicolor Dreamcoat for "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" on Broadway. She was the designer for many of the dresses in the famous "Modess… Because" ads of the early 1960's.

While designing dresses for "The Supremes", she met her soon-to-be husband, Lennie Bleecher. Since she'd previously had two fiancés that died on her, she made sure to marry this one post haste. They tied the knot in April of 1971. After two miscarriages, and at the age of 41; she had a son, David, in July of 1973. She remarked on this series of threes often. She left New York in 1975 for Dallas, Texas so that her son would have a safe place to grow up. She opened another Haute Couture shop there, but the times were harder for high fashion in the age of denim and plain white tees. After 15 years in Texas, she moved the family to Los Angeles, CA. She opened another shop in Beverly Hills, and subsidized the slow months with flea markets. No matter what setting she was in, she was beloved. She cursed like a sailor and loved like a Saint.

In 2009, she fell ill with a failing kidney. It put her into a coma for a couple of months. When she awoke from it, she couldn't walk anymore. So, her son and daughter-in-law (Jennifer) moved her to Story County Medical Center: Senior Care in Nevada, Iowa. Baba wasn't going to let a little thing like not being able to walk slow her down! She made fast friends with all of the care givers and went out with her son to dinner every two weeks. She told stories of her adventures, laughed, cried, gave advice, and was written up in the local paper. All the way to the end, she was magnificent. She died peacefully on the morning of August 12th, 2016, with her son and daughter-in-law next to her. There will never be another like her.

http://www.stevensmemorialchapel.com/
 

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