Gerald Baeten Obituary

Gerald Joseph Baeten, age 92, died peacefully at his daughter's home in Erie, Colorado, on Monday, December 29, 2025. His priest, Father Robert Wedow, was present to give comfort at his passing.

Gerald was born March 20, 1933, in DePere, Wisconsin, to Isabelle and Edward Baeten. He served in the US Army in Korea where he attained the rank of sergeant, and was an instructor with I-Corps at the NCO Academy. He was discharged in April 1955, and in August he married his sweetheart, Claire Corbett, a nursing student he had met while stationed at Fort Jackson, SC. He studied engineering at Clemson College on the GI Bill before moving the family to Wisconsin, where they were soon busy raising six children. Jerry worked for engineering firms in Green Bay and South Beloit before joining Martin Automatic in Rockford, IL. As a key member of the service department, he was trained as a pilot on the company plane, a Beechcraft Bonanza, which he flew on service calls across the country. He also had many colorful stories from international trips to clients in Europe and Asia, Canada, and Latin America.

Jerry and Claire were fond of family camping vacations, and after the kids moved away they enjoyed a period of motorcycle camping. When Jerry retired in 1998, he and Claire hooked onto their fifth-wheel trailer and traveled the country as full-time RV'ers. Summers were spent visiting children and grandchildren in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain region, and friends and family throughout the US and Canada. They joined an RV resort co-op called Pine to Palm in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, where they wintered for fourteen years. They built many close friendships and always stayed busy. Jerry loved meeting new people and exchanging stories, and nobody was a stranger. He was an avid reader and a history buff, he kept abreast of the latest technologies, he excelled at card games, and he loved working with his hands. Most of all, he loved his family.

Jerry and Claire came to live with their daughter in Colorado after Claire suffered a stroke in 2018; she passed away two years later. Jerry continued to gather with family in Montana, Iowa and Florida, and took part in activities across four generations of family in Colorado. In September 2025 he joined Vietnam and Korea veterans on an Honor Flight to Washington, DC, which was a very special trip. A month later, all his sons and daughters made another special trip for a reunion in Colorado. He remarked that he never expected to live this long, and he certainly enjoyed a good life.

Gerald is survived by daughters Martha (Doug) Schmid of Dubuque IA, Pamela (Dan) Specht of Punta Gorda FL, and Lisa (Dennis) Simplot of Erie CO; sons Anthony (Linda) Baeten of Lander WY, William (Rita) Baeten of Billings MT, and Michael (D'Lon) Baeten of Kalispell MT; fifteen grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two step-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother Dale; and Claire, his beloved wife of 65 years.

A funeral mass will be held at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at Saint Scholastica Catholic Church in Erie, Colorado, followed by a reception at the church hall at 2:30 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Gerald's name may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or Wounded Warrior Project. Online condolences may be made to the family at Carroll-Lewellen Funeral Home in Longmont, CO.