Obituary of Aaron David Baum
Aaron David Baum, 59, died at home Wednesday, March 27, 2019, in the arms of the love of his life, after a gracious & courageous battle with a rare form of renal cell carcinoma with all of the items on his “Bucket List” checked. His wife, Rene’ M. Roehr Baum held him & catered to his every need as he crossed over to whatever comes next
A lifelong resident of Troy, New York, Aaron was educated in the Enlarged City School District of Troy, The Hebrew Academy, & Hudson Valley Community College. Though he & Rene’ met in grammar school, & both graduated Troy High School, they found romance at their 30th Troy High Reunion, & married in 2013, sharing their children & grandchildren, & a pack of mutual friends who rallied to assist however they could to be of service in Aaron’s herculean effort to live as much life as he could as he challenged a particularly aggressive disease, returning the favor of his leadership & respect he exhibited as their THS Class of ‘78 President. His lifelong friends provided fellowship, meals, property upkeep, support & most importantly, laughter.
As sick as he was, Aaron, prioritized making it to his Class of ’78, 40th Reunion & worked tirelessly to provide a truly special evening for his classmates. He rallied & was well enough to preside over the Program & another “Bucket List” goal was successfully achieved. As a surprise for their president, Aaron’s Class took time to honor him, & specifically called attention to his welcoming nature & highlighted the exemplarily respect he extends to whom ever he encounters.
Aaron always said he owes his manners, esteem for the women he encountered, & respectful nature, to his upbringing. From his mother, he gained the insight to treat young ladies, as though he were addressing his mom or sister. Aaron, learned to deal with everyone with a sense of quiet dignity, employing honesty, grace, fairness, charity, & equality, from his father, Harold, his quintessential role model.
Aaron took all of his lessons, including those of his dad, & modeled him, an exemplary paragon of hard work, the “Golden Rule”, & taking care of family & friends, to become to those who knew him, a personification of propriety & grace. In true Aaron Baum fashion, though, he did it all while having a great time, laughing all the way.
Predeceased by his father Harold L. Baum, Aaron is survived by his wife Rene’ M. Roehr Baum, & his mother, Ruth A. Baum, all of Troy, NY, his son, Ian Jura-Baum, (Emily) of Minneapolis,MN., his step children, Phillip A Reichert, of Raymond, ME. Alexandra Ghent (Gary) of Corinth, N.Y., & the much loved
Grandchildren he & Rene’ shared: Lydia Grace and Holden Reichert, Gary Jr, Annabelle, & Michael Ghent. He became their “Poppy”, & taught them the life lessons only a grandpa can, as they enriched each other’s lives.
The second of four children, Aaron is also survived by a sister, Ellen Kirisitz (Paul), Silver Springs, MD., & two brothers, Daniel Baum (Kelly), Jacksonville, FL., & Jay Baum (Maria) Troy, N.Y., his Sister-In-Law, Faith Harrington, PhD., & “Big Sister”, Jacqueline Russell, his aunts, uncles, nieces & nephews.
Aaron took his the life lessons he learned from Mom & Dad & though out his schooling & went to work to provide for his family at GE Silicones, in Waterford, N.Y., Momentive Performance Materials, Waterford, N.Y. and most recently, Albany Molecular Research Institute, Rensselaer, NY.
For extra money & the love of the game, Aaron involved himself in Volleyball as a referee for Division 1 collegiate and USAA matches. As a volunteer for the Special Olympics, he received an humanitarian service award. Other professional accolades include: his work at GE, where the Organization of Chemistry presented him the Young Chemist Award. Later in his career Aaron was honored to Co-Author a paper on the Organochemistry, during his time at GE.
To celebrate Aaron’s love of life & those he cared for, his wife has asked for friends & family to honor him at a Memorial Service on Friday, March 29th at 1PM at the Levine Memorial Chapel, at 649 Washington Ave. Albany, N.Y. 12206, followed by interment at the Temple Beth El Cemetery at the end of Belle Ave. in Troy, N.Y., off of Pinewoods Ave., in the rear of the cemetery grounds. Saturday, evening there will be a Shiva Sitting Service at The Terrace At The Eddy Memorial, at 2256 Burdett Ave. Troy, N.Y. 12180, in the Chapel.
Many friends, family & health care professionals, assisted Aaron & Rene’ as Aaron reared up, stuck out his chest & spit in the face of Cancer & the pain & sickness it brought to bear, while he remained a consommé gentleman, the leader of his class & family & handled his mother’s care as long as he could. They include Dr. Bali Ramanathan & her staff at Family Medical Center, Rensselaer, NY, and Dr. David McDermitt director of clinical studies for the small cell lung carcinoma & renal cell carcinoma at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA.
It would certainly honor Aaron’s legacy to make a memorial donation in his memory,
to Community Hospice, Rensselaer County, 295 Valley View Blvd, Rensselaer, N.Y. 12144. They provided essensual end-of-life care.
