[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 24, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       REMEMBERING AARON E. BAER

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I would like to pay tribute 
to a dear friend, the Honorable Aaron A. Baer, who died yesterday, just 
2 days shy of what would have been his 103rd birthday. He was the 
oldest living judge in Maryland.
  Judge Baer was known to his family as the ``centennial cowboy'' who 
had ``a great ride,'' as his family put it. He was a Baltimore native, 
the son of a Russian immigrant who worked in a clothing factory and 
became a tailor. Judge Baer graduated from the University of Baltimore 
Law School in 1937. He supported himself and paid for law school by 
repairing and replacing tar roofs.
  Judge Baer practiced real estate law for several years before 
becoming an assistant Baltimore City solicitor, an assistant attorney 
general, and a State senator for the 5th District in 1959. He was 
appointed to the Municipal Court of Baltimore City in 1961 by then-
Governor J. Millard Tawes. In 1971, he was appointed to the newly 
created District Court of Maryland by then, Governor Marvin Mandel. He 
retired as a district court judge in 1981 at the age of 67.
  Judge Baer was married to Judy Weinberg for 66 years before her 
passing in 2007. He and his wife had two daughters. The older daughter 
is Susan Reichmister, who is married to Dr. Jerome Reichmister. They 
have two children: Beth, who is married to Bart Casper, and Jodi, who 
is married to Craig Kessler. The younger daughter is the Honorable 
Barbara Baer Waxman, who is administrative judge of the District Court 
of Maryland for Baltimore City. She is married to Dr. Carl Waxman. 
Judge Baer had four great-grandchildren: Nicole, Sloane, Mitchell, and 
Blair, and numerous nieces and nephews.
  The Cardin family is friends with many members of the Baer family. 
Judge Baer and my parents were close friends. It has been a great 
privilege to know Judge Baer, to receive his counsel, and to count him 
not just as a close friend of my father's, but as my close friend, too.
  Judge Baer lived an exemplary life devoted to public service, the 
community, and to his family. He started riding Indian motorcycles as a 
youth and then became an avid horseback rider until he turned 100, 
which is how he earned the nickname ``centennial cowboy.'' He did have 
``a great ride,'' and I am grateful for having been along for some of 
it. My wife, Myrna, and I send our deepest condolences and prayers to 
his family.

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