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James Wallace Baird, Ph.D.

  • On March 12, 2021
  • 14 Comments

JAMES WALLACE BAIRD, Ph.D.
It is impossible to say enough good things about Jim Baird, who passed from this life at age 74 at home and in the company of his family on March 9, 2021. He is survived by his wife Harriet (Jacobsen), two sons, David and Michael (Allison Fitz), and two sisters, Mary (Ed Hunka) and Barbara.

Jim was the son of Martha Schreiner and William E. Baird, and a lifelong resident of Mt. Lebanon, where his earliest friends nicknamed him Wally. Throughout his life he and Harriet kept many strong friendships alive, by doing things like opening their home on Friday nights to play pool, listen to great music, watch movies and enjoy each other’s company.

Jim’s education took him from Mt. Lebanon High School — proud class of ‘64 — to Denison and Duquesne Universities, and culminated in a Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh in 1985. He also served in the US Army Reserve as a Military Policeman, rated as a sharpshooter.

His professional career as a Clinical Psychologist ended just two weeks ago, and included 35 years at Mayview State Hospital, and 26 years at Associates in Clinical Psychiatry. Jim also served as a Gerontology-Neuropsychological consultant at St. Margaret Hospital. During his career he earned the gratitude of many patients for his compassion, understanding and wise guidance.

He had an encyclopedic knowledge of matters relating to health and fitness and was the go-to person for all of us on the topics of diet, medicine and exercise. His dedication to fitness was legendary. Beginning in 1974, he meditated daily.

Jim loved to bicycle, logging up to 2,000 miles a year on local trails and on annual trips which became known as Downhill Tours of America. No route was too difficult or hill too steep for him to tackle. He met each obstacle with strength and grace, and relished the challenge and camaraderie bicycling with friends offered.
During their 49 loving years together, Jim and Harriet enjoyed travel, both together and with friends. They took numerous cruises, notably to Europe and most recently on the Rhine. The common thread in Jim’s life, which ran through his relationships with family, patients and friends, was his unique and genuine concern for others. He sought to understand our lives, learn our problems as well as our hopes, and offer encouragement. He was rarely critical. The cancer which took him was swift and and caught many unawares. None of us who knew him will be able to replace him in our lives.

A Gathering will be held on Saturday, March 20, 2021 from noon to four P.M. at Pittsburgh Crematorium and Funeral Care, 3287 Washington Rd., McMurray, PA. Due to Covid restrictions, only 25 people at a time will be admitted and masks are required. Please view and sign the family’s guest book at http://www.pittsburghcremation.com/ and post your favorite Wally-Jim-Dr.-Baird story! A private memorial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society.

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14 Comments

Deborah Carso
I worked with Jim at Mayview State Hospital on the Research unit. You could not find a kinder, more empathetic person. He was brilliant, yet never made you feel less because you asked a question. In fact, he seemed to love the rule of instructor and gladly shared his knowledge with patience and kindness. He was always interested in what you were doing with the patients and the results you were seeing. I always felt like I was an important part of the team. I want to offer my deepest sympathy to the Baird family. May he RIP.
Al Gillis
I knew Wally for a number of years. I met him through John Hensler and my brother Marty. We had lost contact for many years but in my retirement I started going in the morning to LA Fitness. It was there that we ran into each other. It was a pleasure catching up with him and sharing information about our families. We would talk about fitness and our aches and pains. Wally gave me so much information and pleasant conversion. He was such a nice person. He will be missed.
Ann Montgomery
Dr. Baird had been my therapist for the last 8 years. I can't begin to express my sadness at his sudden death. I have never known such a sincerely caring individual. I knew when we talked, he truly listened to me and was willing to help in any way he could. I will miss him but I will always remember him as a very special individual and I was lucky to have known him. Please accept my sympathies to his family and close friends.
Dev Lemster
We had so much fun. It all started with Harry McCann’s English class at Mt. Lebanon HS – Wally [Jim] and I were in the back row. Mr. McCann called all students “Scholar”, and would advise us how “puny and meager” was our knowledge of almost anything we had studied. He would grab Jim and I by the shoulders by surprise and ask a question. We laughed about that forever, often addressing each other as “Scholar”. More or less post college, Jim and I joined the US Army Reserves and became weekend warrior MP’s. More lifelong laughs remembering the 6 year “War of Leetsdale” and the friends and experiences we had being a small part of the Army in turbulent times. Life rolled along, marriage, kids, more college degrees, many social gatherings, a few speed bumps, beach vacations with our families together, and gradually a group of friends that spent lots of time together and really loved each other. Circa 2003, we started bicycling together. Early on we would ride the local trails on the weekends with a couple close friends. Then we biked Pit-DC together in 2008, and that started some serious attention to bikes and biking. Over the years, Jim and I biked maybe 25,000 miles together. Biking brought us a childlike sense of freedom and adventure that tempered the structure of our lives. We would talk about politics, sports, economics, psychology, fitness, health, beer, wine, travel, the world, bike stuff, bikes, work, family, friends, weather – our lives. We always rode an out and back on the trails – the way out was talk, the way back was music and work. We would push each other hard to get the “burn” going – Jim loved the burn. At the end of each ride was a handshake and “good ride scholar”. We started taking one week 250 mile self planned late August bike trips to the Finger Lakes, Erie Canal, Maryland Eastern Shore, and the Beach with our biking pals. We would pile all our stuff and bikes into/onto my Yukon XL [ which Jim tagged the Mothership ] - just kids with a brother’s love for each other, an agenda, credit cards, nice bikes, and good health care [ came in handy a couple times ]. Jim and I would message daily about a news article one of us read that needed further discussion – always trying to improve our “puny and meager” knowledge and understand the problems of the world. Jim had the unique ability to listen when most people would talk. Jim never got mad when I would get us in trouble with a half baked bike route that maybe ran out of paving, was really steep, didn’t end up anywhere, or all of these at once. Jim really cared about people and their problems. Jim was the best friend I could have had. I will see you again Scholar Jim. We had so much fun.
George Heid
My life is blessed by James Wallace Baird's friendship from our first encounter to his last days. I first became aware of this rare soul about 57 years ago. It was in school and James (Wally) possessed a brightness of optimism and good will that was rare in that period of our lives. And that friendship only grew continuously over the next 4 decades. And what James showed me as well as all others who were blessed to know him, was his incredible degree of caring, wisdom, knowledge, compassion, empathy and his gift of listening in any conversation. I would guess that most would agree about his attributes which he gave without as much as a hick-up. Words simply fail me to describe what James's altruism meant to me. So, I can only imagine how all who knew him basked in that same light. My deepest condolences to his beautiful and caring wife, Harriet ~ his exceptional caring son's, David and Michael. Along with the rest of his family and friends who all grew to greater heights in life for knowing James (Wally) Beard. Rest in power, transcendent, rare and wonderful soul. Your friendship has blessed me for having known you. This world is less bright without your light & you are missed. ~George Sr.
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