Kerry S. Baker “was an extraordinary woman whose love for her family was as vast as the forests she cherished,” her daughter Sarah Baker wrote. “She found peace and beauty in nature, and through her, I learned to slow down, to notice, and to care deeply for the world around me.”
Mrs. Baker died in hospice care in Westhampton Beach on April 22. She was 71 and faced several health challenges in her final years.
“To her family,” said her daughter Chelsea Tierney of East Hampton, “she was the heart of countless cherished memories — homemade strawberry shortcake on birthdays, summer nights spent chasing fireflies in the backyard, the days filled with princess parties, imaginative play, and weekends of horseback riding.”
Born in Brooklyn on Oct. 1, 1954, to Jerome Rothbell and the former Carol Einhorn, she grew up in the Whitestone and Bayside neighborhoods of Queens.
She and her future husband, Thomas Baker, met at a wedding in East Hampton. Her cousin was his best friend. The two had been together since 1977 and were married on April 20, 1980.
They moved back to his hometown in 1986, settling in Springs, where they raised their two daughters. Mrs. Baker worked as an office manager and administrative assistant and was a Girl Scout and 4-H leader.
“She had a deep love for arts and crafts, always creating something with her hands, embracing both the beauty and the mess that came with it,” Ms. Tierney said.
“More than anything,” said Ms. Baker, who lives in Tarzana, Calif., “she was my biggest supporter, always in my corner, always believing in me, even when I struggled to believe in myself.”
While her mother didn’t attend college herself, Ms. Tierney said she “earned quite an education by proofreading every college paper that her daughters ever wrote, a reflection of her dedication and quiet support behind their successes. She also had a thoughtful way of staying connected, sending cards not only for special occasions but often just because she was thinking of you.”
“She was a great mom and a wonderful companion,” her husband said, adding that she took many animals into her home over the years — dogs and cats, and even snakes and rabbits.
Her mother “had a huge heart, one that extended to all living things,” Ms. Baker said, “and she taught me empathy not just through her words, but through the way she lived every day.”
“She especially enjoyed her grandson,” Matzen Tierney, “who was her pride and joy and brought her endless happiness,” Ms. Tierney said.
In addition to her husband, daughters, and grandson, Mrs. Baker is survived by a son-in-law, Timothy Tierney, and two sisters, Robin Touhill of Queens and Dale Rothbell of Buffalo.
Mrs. Baker was cremated. A reception celebrating her life will be held on Friday, May 8, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Blend restaurant in East Hampton. The family prefers that those attending not wear black. “Celebrate with something red. That’s her color,” her husband said.
Her family has suggested donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, online at stjude.org, or East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978 or eeh.org.
