Dear Caldwell,
One of my great joys as a member of the Caldwell staff is to share with you the news of new babies and new members. You were able to experience that joy with me last week. Welcome, Quentin, Neecho, and Eleanor.
Another of the joys of this job is more nuanced than the announcement of a birth or a new member. It is both a sweet joy and a bitter sorrow to share the news of the death of one of our members. It is bitter because we miss those who have left us and gone ahead of us to be with God. It is sweet because their suffering, anguish, and pain are over. What a moment that must be – to see Jesus face to face in all of his glory.
One of Caldwell’s long time members, GW Baker, died at home last Thursday. He came to Caldwell several years ago after a long tenure as a member at Seigle Avenue Presbyterian Church.
It was an honor for me to visit with him and his wife, Betty, a few times during the past year. I always looked forward to being able to sit with him, listen to stories of his life, laugh and cry with him, and also to pray with him.
Everyone I have met who knew him says he was a dear, kind, courageous, funny, hospitable, God-fearing man. That was certainly my experience of him. I will miss him – and I am confident that I am not alone in feeling that way.
Here is information about how his family will celebrate his life this week. Please plan to join in with the celebration as you are able to do so.
The viewing will be on Thursday, September 5, from 6 pm until 8 pm at Boston Mortuary. The address is 4300 Statesville Rd, Charlotte, NC 28269.
The visitation with the family will be on Friday at noon in the sanctuary here at Caldwell. The funeral service will follow at 1 pm.
The burial will immediately follow the service at Beatties Ford Road Memorial Gardens. The address is – 8604 Cliff Cameron Dr #145, Charlotte, NC 28269.
The repast – the meal following the burial – will be at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, which is Betty’s home church. The address is 1303 Hawthorne Ln. Charlotte, NC. 28205.
If you wish to send Betty Baker a card, her address is 6037 Country Walk Drive, Charlotte, NC, 28212.
We thank God for GW Baker and for his loving presence here at Caldwell. We thank God for the blessed assurance that comes from the knowledge that, in life and in death, we belong to God and also to one another.
May God grant comfort to his family, his friends, all of us here in his faith community, and all who knew him.
Grace and peace be with you all, Gail Henderson-Belsito