Sarah Maureen Baird

Sarah Maureen Baird, 87, died on Sunday, July 28, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. She was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania on January 5, 1937 to Harold Bertram Baird and Catherine Elizabeth (McTigue) Baird.

She boarded for 12 years at Saint Xavier Academy in Unity, graduating in 1954. There she discovered her life-long love of art, music, and theater, and learned about botany and animals from her favorite teachers. She described her time at St. X as occasionally lonely, but which built a sense of self-reliance and adventure that never waned. She went on to Seton Hill College where she majored in art, but took a hiatus to marry and raise four children. She returned to Seton Hill, graduating magna cum laude with a BFA in Art Education in 1974.

Her dream of becoming an art teacher was fulfilled when she began teaching at Greensburg Central Catholic High School in 1979. There, she served as the department chair, leading classes in visual arts, darkroom photography, and art history. She designed and painted scenery for countless theater productions there. She taught classes at the Westmoreland Museum of Art and the Greensburg Art Club, where she was a founding member and an early exhibitor at the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival demonstrating raku pottery firing in a hand-built kiln. She exhibited her work at many Pittsburgh and regional art festivals. She loved to travel, and embarked on many solo trips to visit friends in New York, family in France, and even took the Amtrak to San Francisco and returned through the Canadian Rockies. After moving to Columbia, she was a member of both the Trenholm Artists and the Seven Oaks Guild; she won several awards and was a prize winner at the South Carolina State Fair Professional Artist Exhibit in 2015. She was an active volunteer, from gardening at the Riverbanks Zoo, to helping to paint scenery for her granddaughters’ high school (Ridge View) spring musicals and marching band shows, and prepping and serving holiday meals at The Basilica of Saint Peter Roman Catholic Church.

She enjoyed spending time with friends while attending the SC Philharmonic and the Lake Murray Symphony or at the Lourie or Harbison Recreation Center, swimming, doing water aerobics, and practicing tai chi. She always had at least one cat in her life, and adored her late dogs, who kept her active.

Besides her parents, she was predeceased by two sons, Brendan Jon and Timothy Eoin Kelley; her brothers, Bertram, Merle (Buddy), and Ervin (Buzz) Baird; sisters-in-law, Gerda and Betty; nephews, Curtis (Cubby), John, and James Baird; her niece, Catherine Maureen Baird; and her brief late-in-life husband, Burges Fite.

She is survived by her son, Blaise Fitzthomas Kelley of North Carolina; daughter, Greer Kelley and husband, Alain Angelac, of Columbia, SC; grandchildren, Sarah Foreit (Rob), Catherine Frable (Jon), Adrian Gray, Claire Angelac, Zoë Angela, Sophie Angela, and Teague Kelley; great-grandchildren, Jaelyn and Raedyn Foreit, Bryce and Molly Frable, and Ada Angela-Threatt; nieces, Pat Maata, Judy Payne, Kelly Caruso, Joyce Gleich, Sandy Pappas and their spouses; nephews, Chris, Dan, and Joe Baird and their spouses; her former daughter-in-law, Elaine Gray, and her former husband, Tom Kelley. In 2016, she was delighted to be reunited with her son, Adrian Newhouse, who had been placed for adoption in 1957. He, his daughters Sarah and Maggi and wife Pamela, also survive her.

Her family wishes to thank the wonderful staff at Harmony of Columbia assisted living for their sensitive, humorous, and affectionate care, especially LaTara, Schunda, Keisha, Keyonna, Kiera, and Alexis. Many thanks to Heart of Hospice, particularly RNs Sue and Debbie for guiding us during her transition. Maureen felt that all of you were her neighbors, just dropping in to spend some time with her and get her a snack.

Her interment and a memorial will take place at a date to be announced at the Greensburg Catholic Cemetery. Donations to your local pet rescue organizations or art clubs would be appreciated.