Susan Barker Baird, G’89, a former research associate at Penn’s School of Nursing, passed away on March 30. She was 79.

Raised in East Hanover, New Jersey, Ms. Baird graduated from the John Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing in 1963, then settled into a life of raising her children and working night shifts as a nurse. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ms. Baird ran a bed-and-breakfast in Nantucket and a restaurant in New Hampshire before returning to nursing with a position at New London Hospital. This post reignited her interest in oncology, and she spent the next two decades as an administrator and researcher at several institutions around the U.S. These included the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, National Institutes of Health, Oncology Nursing Society, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Meniscus Limited, and, from 1988 to 1990, Penn’s School of Nursing. During this productive career, she earned BA, MPH and MA degrees from New England College (1977), Boston University (1979), and University of Pennsylvania (1989), respectively. Ms. Baird racked up a distinguished record of professional service and received Distinguished Service Awards from the American Cancer Society (1990) and Oncology Nursing Society (1994).

Later in her career, Ms. Baird switched gears and worked in camp nursing, serving at Incarnation Center, Nature’s Classroom, and Sargent Center for Outdoor Education. She retired in 2007 and moved to Cape Cod, taking an active role at the Keystone Place senior living community. 

Ms. Baird is survived by her daughter, Leslie Montejano; two grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; her sisters, Mary Perry and Carolyn Fraley; two nephews; three grandnephew/nieces; and other cousins and extended family. A private family service and burial at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Wilton, NH will follow at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations would be welcomed in Ms. Baird’s memory to Incarnation Center, PO Box 577, Ivoryton, CT 06442, www.incarnationcenter.org.