Mary Ann Baker-Holmes

80 years old. Born on September 9, 1940, in Gladewater, Texas, the daughter of Charles Dana Williams and Lula B. Mangham.

She attended public schools in Gladewater, graduating high school in 1958. She earned a B.S. in Elem. Ed from the Univ. of Texas in 1962. She taught in Houston for one year. She then attended Vanderbilt University. There she met her first husband, William T. "Bill" Baker. They settled in Orlando, Florida. They had three beautiful, talented children. Though their success is their own, she was very proud to be their mother. She became a licensed real estate broker in Florida and after brief stints with Huskey Realty and the Winter Park Land Company, she built her own successful brokerage in Winter Park, Mary Ann Baker, Inc., where she was known as "The Lakefront Leader." In 1995 she sold her company and returned to college, earning a Master's Degree in counseling from Rollins College in 1997. After graduating, she built a successful therapy practice in Winter Park. In 2005, she closed her practice and moved with her second husband, John V.A. Holmes, to Breckenridge, Colorado, where she pursued her truest passions, skiing, gardening, and family. Her greatest joy was to have her children and grandchildren gather in Colorado. She was a courageous breast cancer survivor. Throughout her treatment she continued to sell houses, making a bald head seem chic. She was known for her charm, for her stylish flair, and for her dancing. Mary Ann was fun! Delightful. She will be sorely missed by all those who were lucky enough to have known her.

She is survived by her husband John V.A. Holmes; by her children, D. Scott Baker, a lawyer in Orlando, and his children Ava and Jake; Jennifer Baker, an artist and translator who splits her time between Italy and Colorado, her husband, Aldo Rampini, and their children Jonah and Dana; and W. Brett Baker, of Georgetown, South Carolina, Director of Fundraising for Ducks Unlimited, his wife Carolyn, and their children Taylor and Lauren, and her sister Donna Ralston of Corsicana, Texas. To her grandchildren she was Nonna Mary Ann.

There will be a Memorial Service for Mary Ann on Monday, August 23, 2021, at Baldwin-Fairchild Celebration of Life Center, 7520 Aloma Avenue, Winter Park, Florida 32792 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please make a gift to The Alzheimer's Association (act.alz.org) or Compassion and Choices (compassionandchoices.org) in Mary Ann's name.