Cathy Lee (Metzgar) Baird

Cathy Lee (Metzgar) Baird, 61, of Goshen Twp in Salem, Ohio, passed away at 5:26 a.m on Saturday, May 8, 2021 at her home with her loving husband nearby.

She was born on September 1, 1959 in E. Liverpool, Ohio to her late parents; Raymond and Mary Ellen (Garloch) Metzgar.

Cathy was a 1977 graduate of Salem High School. She was employed over the years at Generator Specialists Inc., and Colonial Catering now known as A-La-Cart Catering, both located in Canfield, Ohio. More recently you may have seen her smiling face at the Salem Walmart where she was a cashier/customer service associate for 13 years, until February of 2020. In her younger days, whether she was having fun in the sun or sitting with a watchful eye as a life guard, you could often find Cathy spending her summer days near the water. She married her beau and the love of her life; Douglas “Doug” Baird on June 1, 1979 and spent the next 42 years creating a beautiful life together. Cathy had a wide and varied range of interests and hobbies to fit her larger than life personality. In her quieter more creative moments, you might find her cross stitching, but if she were feeling a little more adventuresome you might find her try her luck at the casinos. She loved to travel! Especially if that road lead her to her family in California. She cherished and adored her family with all her heart and without a doubt spoiling her grand kids was her absolute most favorite thing to do! After all, that’s what Grandma’s are for, right... BUT, you wouldn’t want to get to comfortable, because before you knew it, you might be the recipient of one of her famous pranks...if you were lucky. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind how much Cathy loved her family. It was never more evident then when Christmas time rolled around and she made sure that everyone had a freezer full of cookies to get through the holiday. There is nothing that takes you back to a place and time more than coming home to the smell of freshly baked cookies, unless it was coming home to the smell of burnt cookies! Cathy was a multi-task-er, both to her credit and misfortune. She often tried to get just one more thing finished or started in the 8-10 minutes that it took to bake a batch of cookies. So, she may have on more that a few occasions have become preoccupied and burnt more than her fair share of cookies. But, to the family, that is a smell that will be a treasured reminder to them of their loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She could be a little strong-willed, which at times can come with a negative connotation, but to those who knew Cathy and especially her family, it was anything but negative. She was a beautiful example of what it meant to be a strong women. She had a determination and a will that was like no other. In spite of all that life may have thrown at her, she always wore a smile and faced each day with a positive “can-do” attitude, lots of grace, a dash of sass, and a little mischievous twinkle in her eye.

In addition to her husband; Cathy is survived by her children; Brooke (Jesse) Tice of California, Nick (Lauren) Baird of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Erica (Joe) Swope of Louisville, Ohio; 5 grandchildren; siblings; Mary Beth Burt of WV and Chip Metzgar of Salem.

There will be no services at this time.

Care was entrusted to the Arbaugh-Pearce-Greenisen & Sons Funeral & Cremation Services of Salem, Ohio.

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