John Henry Baer

John died on January 10, 2014. He was born May 23, 1935 in Hoboken, NJ, and was raised in Teaneck, N.J. He received a competitive Congressional appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated with the class of 1957. He was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps and served four years as an infantry officer and aerial observer stationed at Camp Lejeune and New River Air Station. During the 1960's and 1970?s John pursued a varied career in engineering, IT systems, marketing and technical sales with several large corporations. He and his first wife, Dorothy, and their children moved with this career from New York State, to New Jersey, Arizona, North Carolina, Illinois, and Michigan. He always found the best that anyplace had to offer and enjoyed everywhere. While with Celanese Corp. working in New Jersey and living in New York City in the early 1980's, he and Julia Martin were married. A native North Carolinian., Julia brought John back to North Carolina, where he has spent the rest of his happy life. John soon acquired "citizenship" papers through Julia's kin so that he could move freely about without question due to his New Jersey accent. He then decided to give up the corporate world and try something different. He gradually became involved in the residential interior remodeling field and established his own contracting firm in Charlotte. He considered this to be the most rewarding part of his working life; he was proud of his abilities to conceptualize a customer's needs, then design and build to their satisfaction. These were skills he had developed over his lifetime. John and Julia purchased a retirement home In Southport overlooking beautiful lawns down to the Cape Fear River in 1993. John utilized his skills to remodel it and they moved there permanently in 1997. They became involved in community affairs and active in the Southport Presbyterian Church where John was an Elder. One of his proudest achievements was serving as a teacher's aide for 5 years in the 2nd grade classroom at Southport Elementary. They moved to Porter's Neck Plantation in 2003. John's active participation at St. Andrew's-Covenant Presbyterian centered in his desire to help the needy by helping organize the church's donations to local agencies and ministries. He always hoped that he was able to make even a small difference in someone else's life. John continued to use his creative skills in projects in their home, to the landscape, and to cooking gourmet meals. He loved to plant a vegetable garden and share the harvest; he hardly missed a season in his life. John had an avid interest in all God's creations around him as well as around the globe. John and Julia spent more than their last decade together traveling to every continent. Their favorite trips were two safaris to Africa. John loved his God., his country, and his family. He was especially proud of the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren. John always considered himself to be the luckiest guy in the world. He is survived by his wife, Julia Martin Baer, his daughter, Janice B. Iverson, her husband, Chris and her daughters, Alison Popper and Lindsay Popper, and his son, Kenneth J. Baer, his wife Carleen and his son Keith and his daughter, Lauren.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 11:00 at St. Andrews -Covenant Presbyterian Church. Donations may be made to Lower Cape Fear Hospice or to the charity of one's choice.