Obituary of Anne Baia

Anne Baia, an accomplished and well respected Certified Public Accountant and Chief Financial Officer passed away after a yearlong battle with cancer on Wednesday morning, October 20, 2010. She was 54 years old. Anne was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Framingham and was a 1973 graduate of Framingham North High School. She went onto to receive a BS Degree from Salem State University and her Masters in Taxation and Finance and MBA from Bentley College. She worked as a Certified Public Accountant for many years and then moved on to working as a Chief Financial Officer and most recently added the role of Chief Operations Officer for many small Bio-Tech companies. She was very passionate about the Bio-Tech field and enjoyed helping these small companies develop and launch. She was extremely well respected by her colleagues in this field. Anne also cherished her role of wife and mother. She and her husband raised their 2 children in Burlington. She involved herself in her children’s activities, interests, and sports. She supported and encouraged them to seek their dreams. Ogunquit was a very special place to Anne and her family. They shared many vacations with family and friends that were filled with laughter and lasting memories. She enjoyed walking her golden retriever dogs; Rocco and Bocce, on the beaches and streets of Ogunquit Maine. She will be remembered for her ability to balance a successful career with being a caring and loving wife, mother, and friend. She will be always be remembered and loved. Anne was the beloved wife of Edward Baia. She was the loving mother of Amy Elizabeth and Edward Baia, Jr. both of Burlington. She was the daughter of Elliott and Nancy Baldwin of Framingham and daughter-in-law of Antonette and John Baia of Burlington. She was the sister of Elliott N. Baldwin, III and his wife Amy of MS., She was the sister-in-law of Esther Baldwin of FL, Paul Baia & his late wife Maria of Byfield, Stephen and Michelle Baia of FL, John and Susan Baia of Burlington, Richard & Christine Baia of MI. Anne was also survived by many nieces, nephews, and friends. Funeral services will be held at St. Malachy’s Church, 99 Bedford St., Burlington on Monday, October 25 at 11 a.m. Relatives and Friends are respectfully invited. Memorials in Anne’s name may be made to the American Lung Association of New England, 460 Totten Pond Road, Suite 400, Waltham, MA 02451. Arrangements under the direction of the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON. Words of Remembrance by Pat Abbott Good Morning, and thank you for being here. It is no surprise, to see such attendance, as Anne was loved and respected by so many. My name is Pat Abbott. If you knew Anne professionally, then you probably know that….if you were in her personal life….you’d probably know me as “Anne’s Imaginary Friend”. Although Anne was an amazing biotech professional, she was an even more amazing wife and mother. She loved Ed dearly and enjoyed him not only as her life partner and the father of her children, but as a true friend. They were great together, a perfect match. They were blessed with two wonderful kids, Amy, whom Anne was so proud of… always working hard, while pursuing her education (just like her mother)…..and Eddie – the social butterfly with wanderlust. Eddie is not here with us today – because he is doing exactly what his mother wanted him to do – study abroad. Amy and Eddie have two sets of grandparents here today, and the family is surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins, not to mention so many very dear friends. If Anne was up here now, blotches of red would be making thier way up to her face. Anne did not like speaking in front of a crowd… unless it was about numbers. Then, she could take a half a year’s worth of work - and “boil it down” into two, maybe three slides. It was “a thing”. Please forgive me, if I use “we” instead of “she”…it’s hard for me to talk…or imagine….her without me. As a pair….we’ve been referred to as “The Pat & Anne Show, The Dynamic Duo…and my personal favorite: Twin Turbos”. I have known Anne since 1997. I hired her as an outside accountant to help launch a company called Phylos. Soon, none of us could live without her perspective and council and she was brought on as a full time employee. She was so smart. Even in our world of brilliance and Nobel Lauriat’s, Anne had the rare combination of intelligence, street savvy, practicality and the ability to communicate It, in plain English. She could defend her position, like no one else. This week, I met Anne’s mother Nancy, for the first time. Agreeing with me, that Anne was so smart, she said, “as a kid, Anne had an answer for everything!” During a mother – teenager interaction – Nancy said something about “If I didn’t do this or that I would never have had you”…Anne’s response was: “well someone would have had me!” What a Smarty Pants! Every morning and every evening, for years –on our commutes we talked endlessly. We called it our “staff meetings” and as a team, we discussed and solved any challenges that our clients faced. We were all about the business and we loved it. We rarely discussed personal or family issues….this was our unique time to focus and figure it all out. By the time we arrived at our destinations, we were both fully charged and ready to rock. ( It was the secret to our energy level. ) Anne was a fiercely loyal person, passionate about biotech, akin to SuperMan (or Woman) – standing for Truth, Justice and The American Way. She was always right – I doubt there is anyone among us who hasn’t asked the question, “What does Anne think?” She was tough, but fair, strong but kind, and always sharp as a tack. She could sum up a job candidate at the handshake….and was usually right. I called her a witch, and meant it as a complement. In the early days we had a CEO, whom we both loved dearly…and used to quip that we were like two pit bulls surrounding him, watching his back and his business…Eventually, we were awarded hats: Hers said, “I am the Pitt Bull”…mine said “I am the Poodle”…my friends who did not know Anne, shivered at the story! Speaking of dogs, I couldn’t believe it when she called me to tell me she was getting a Golden. Rocco was the cutest thing and before long, along came Bocci. Anne loved these dogs. She and Ed would walk them everywhere….but their favorite place was on the beach (off season, of course) in Maine. Anne told me, that she was sure people in Ogunquit, referred to her and Ed, as “The Golden People”. Everyone would stop to pet and talk about the dogs, and Anne loved that (most of the time). Maine was Anne’s refuge. I dare say she loved being up in Maine as much as she loved to work. Not much could deter her from going up there, and she said to me,” if you want to do something for me, then don’t take me away from Maine – come up and visit.” Anne and Ed raised their family in Burlington, where they were always involved in the community. For years she talked about Pop Warner and Cheer Leading. She was so proud of her kids, attending games and competitions. Up in Maine, she loved to drive by their workplaces (usually restaurants, with porches) and “heckle” them. “They love it!” she would say…I wasn’t so sure about this, but it was pretty funny. She was without a doubt, the funniest person I knew. I know that some of you, may not have seen this side of her, but believe me, she was funny. She had a way of interpreting life from the most unusual angle and usually backed it up with actions. Once, we attended a Bio Conference in Chicago and were staying at a fancy hotel, when I looked across the lobby to see Anne, flashing me a toothy grin, and swirling wine in a glass. She was standing at the entrance of “The Educators Conference”, where she signaled for me to join her. Yes, we crashed the conference, drinking their wine and dancing to a great band. I thought it got a little “chancey” when the photographer started taking our pictures, with all of our “new friends”. We had a great time, and were “in like Flynn” until later in the year, in a different state, at a non biotech meeting, I ran into a lovely woman, an educator….. who when chattin’ up business, boiled our common ground, down to a conference that she hosted in Chicago. When I ‘ fessed up to our conference crashing, she returned the next day with the pictures, and sure enough, there we were, cutting up the rug on the dance floor with all the teachers! (Talk about small world) It seemed that most everyone got us mixed up. I don’t know how Anne felt about being called Pat, but I certainly didn’t mind being called Anne. So, if and when you make that slip up, fear not, because it is the highest compliment that you could give me. In closing, I know that Anne would want us to celebrate her life, by living and working passionately… and doing our personal best… to cure cancer. God’s speed, my friend….you will be sorely missed.