My Mom, Rosetta Ann Dunigan, age 86, passed away peacefully on August 28, 2026, at Hillside Heights Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Suites in Amarillo, Texas.

She was born in Phillips, Texas on September 23, 1939, to her mother, Varetta Baker and father, B.O. (Jack) Baker.

She attended high school and was a cheerleader at Phillips High School near Borger, Texas. Later, she attended West Texas College (West Texas A&M University) in Canyon, Texas where she eventually earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing and later earned her license as a registered nurse.

Mom married my Dad, Duwain E. Baer in 1961 and had one child, me, Andrew B. (Beau) Baer on December 14, 1967. Mom and Dad were married for 15 years.

Mom loved to travel and lived in several places including Texas, New Mexico, Hawaii, Washington and Colorado. Her favorite place she lived at was the home of her parents in South Fork, Colorado. I think it was the only fully brick home in the valley up there and overlooked the Rio Grande River. While living in South Fork, she worked for the Rio Grande Lodge and enjoyed taking her dog, Daisy, on walks along the river and up in the mountains.

Mom was born and raised in the Church of Christ and loved Jesus and was always dressed to the ‘9’s, very proper and petite. Her granddaughters, Chloe Baer and Krislyn Perkins, both of Lubbock, Texas each recalled a couple of fun and funny memories of her. While on a Christmas vacation, Krislyn, who also had the same birthday as Mom, September 23 as well as the same middle name, remembered playing that game where you have a plastic frame in your mouth and then try to say something and the others playing try to guess what you’re saying. Mom was small and could barely fit the plastic piece in her mouth and we don’t know what was funnier, watching the expression on her face trying to keep in it her mouth or how she sounded trying to say the phrases. Chloe recalled how we were driving back over Wolf Creek Pass late one night. It was raining or snowing and the roads were slick. I was driving her Jeep and apparently came around a curve too fast, and all the sudden Mom reached up and grabbed the handle above her door and yelled out, “Oh shit!!” …we all instantly burst out laughing as it was entirely out of character for her. She had her quirks as well that we teased her about like not being able to pronounce certain letters – like ‘X’, which she pronounced as ‘ets’. Dixie loved and cared for Mom deeply. I’m so thankful for Dixie and that she is with me to comfort me. She recalled how Mom used to come by where she worked at a furniture store in Amarillo almost every afternoon, bringing her ice cream and visiting with all the customers as if she worked there as well…and then locking the doors and trying to close the store at 3:00pm in the afternoon – 3 hours before it was supposed to close….lol. Dixie also enjoyed doing her hair and makeup for several years while she was at the nursing home to keep her looking beautiful and feeling good. One of the most memorable days I remember with her was an afternoon where we went fly-fishing along the Rio Grande River for about 4 hours…she followed along while I fished and she took pictures the entire time…it was just her and I. It was truly a special day to spend that time with her.

Mom was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Varetta Baker, her sister Betty Steelman of Canyon, brother Bill Baker of Euless, Texas, my Dad, Duwain Baer of Dumas, Texas and her grandson, Creede Baer of Amarillo, Texas. She is survived by myself and my wife Dixie in McKinney, Texas, granddaughter Chloe Baer and her fiancé, Jaron Smith of Lubbock, Texas, granddaughter Krislyn Perkins and partner, Eli Knox of Lubbock, Texas and great-grandsons, Kyler Winnett, River Knox and Parker (Blue) Knox of Lubbock, Texas along with many nephews, nieces, great nephews and nieces in and around Canyon, Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

A small, private, family ceremony will be arranged next spring to spread her ashes up in Colorado along the Rio Grande River, her home in South Fork and Creede, Colorado as well as other places she loved to visit.