Harvey E. Baer, Lt. Col. USAF (retired) passed away peacefully on Aug. 24, 2014, in Lafayette, Colorado. He was 94. Rabbi Brian Immerman and cantorial soloist Holli Berman officiated at the Aug. 27 service at Temple Emanuel.
A private burial took place at Ft. Logan Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
He led an interesting, full and productive life, his family said. A proud veteran of WW II and Korea, he lived life on his terms until the very end.
Mr. Baer was born June 29, 1920, in Denver to Ben and Pearl Dubinsky Baer.
In 1942, he volunteered for the US Army Air Corps and became a navigator/bombardier in the European theater.
On his last mission, his plane was shot down over Nazi-occupied Slovakia. Eventually rescued by a group of Russian partisans, he returned to the US on Passover.
Called back to active duty during the Korean War, he retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel in 1964.
Mr. Baer earned an MBA from the University of Michigan and began his second career as a hospital administrator. His first job was with the pathology department at the University of Michigan.
In 1972, he returned to Denver and CU, where he was instrumental in creating the Faculty Practice Fund (now UPI). The fund supports all doctors at the CU Medical School and hospital.
Mr. Baer and his first wife, Phyllis Manassee Baer, pursued their lifelong dream of owning land and farming and purchased an orchard in Paonia, Colo.
In Paonia, he was president of the Paonia Rotary Club and Turner Ditch Co. Due to his wifes poor health, the couple returned to Denver in 1993. Mrs. Baer predeceased her husband.
Mr. Baer married Shirley Hoffman in 2005.
He enjoyed playing tennis and golf until the age of 90, and lived independently until the week before his death.
Mr. Baer is survived by his wife Shirley Hoffman Baer; his children Barry (Susan) Baer, Lynne (Jay) Pidto and Les (Marianne) Baer; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Contributions may be made in his memory to Jewish War Veterans or the CU Foundation.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
