Kathleen "Kathy" Colbert Baker Sutton

Kathleen (Kathy) Colbert Baker Sutton, 83, went home to the Lord June 2, 2023, after bravely battling a prolonged illness. She was born July 2, 1939, in New York City, the only child of William and Catherine Colbert. Kathy was a proud graduate of Fordham University where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. As an undergraduate at Fordham, she met the love of her life, a young Army Lieutenant named Everett (Jack) Baker from Longview, Texas. Upon her graduation in 1961, they wed and were soon stationed in Berlin, Germany at the height of the Cold War. While there, she gave birth to both of her children, Anne, and Mike. Following Berlin, and her husband’s selection into the newly formed Special Forces, they relocated to Ft. Bragg, NC and raised their family in Fayetteville. Kathy epitomized the term “Army wife”; notably while her husband was deployed during multiple tours of duty in Southeast Asia with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

In addition to being a wife and mother, Kathy also taught 4th grade at Lillian Black Elementary School for 27 years. During this time, she received many accolades, to include Teacher of the Year, and earned her Master’s degree in Counseling from East Carolina University. Former students in Spring Lake will remember that she annually wrote a play that was performed during the Spring Outdoor Fair, in which she created unique characters for each child in her class that year. Kathy loved teaching and is remembered for her affable personality, quick smile, and the positive encouragement and kindness that she bestowed on each of her students. Throughout her long career, she was a pioneer in defining what we refer to today as a “working mom”.

An avid traveler and proud member of the “Friendship Force”, Kathy traveled the globe visiting Japan, China, New Zealand, Australia, and most of Europe. She often reciprocated her hosts’ generosity by sponsoring her many international friends during their visits to North Carolina.

Kathy was a devout Catholic, regularly attending Mass at the Main Post Chapel on Ft. Bragg and later St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Fayetteville, where she was a Lay Eucharistic Minister. Her faith was strong and her generosity abundant.

Kathy is preceded in death by her parents, William and Catherine Colbert, and her beloved husband, Major Everett (Jack) Baker. She is survived by her Children: Anne Nedd (Andrew), and Michael Baker (Sheila); her Grandchildren: Jonathan Nabors Chatham, William Colbert Baker (Claire), Caitlin Baker Osborne (Kyle), and 1LT Ian Michael Baker; and her beloved Great-grandchildren: Charles Everett Baker and Owen Edward Osborne, who brought her much joy and laughter in the twilight of her life.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Green Beret Foundation at www.greenberetfoundation.org.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die”. John 11:25