Monika Baege Fairfax, Vermont Obituary

Monika Baege

MONIKA INGEBORG BAEGE, Ed.D. ESSEX JUNCTION - Monika Baege, 54, passed away peacefully on the sunbathed autumn afternoon of October 29, 2013 at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington. Her two sisters and her husband were at her side. Monika was born April 1, 1959 in Dortmund, Germany, the daughter of Hermann and Ingeborg (Meyer) Baege. She married Christopher Halpin of Essex Junction on July 5, 1986 at the summit of Mount Philo in Charlotte, Vermont during a fierce thunderstorm. Monika attended schools in Madison NJ and graduated in 1981 from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a bachelor of arts with individual concentration in dance therapy. She earned her masters of arts in 1993 in community counseling and her doctorate in 2005 in educational leadership and policy studies. She engaged in further postgraduate training at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family in Washington DC. Dr. Baege practiced as a licensed counselor in Burlington and served as a board member and faculty chair for the Vermont Center for Family Studies and as a board member for the Murray Bowen Archives Project of Leaders for Tomorrow. She was committed to making Dr. Bowen’s archives at the National Library of Medicine accessible to all. Dr. Baege also served as a faculty fellow for the James M. Jeffords Center for Policy Research at the University of Vermont. Following her undergraduate studies, Monika developed movement programs for youth and parents at the South Mountain YMCA in Maplewood NJ where she soon became program director. In 1998 she moved to South Royalton VT and joined the University of Vermont Extension Faculty delivering leadership education for positive youth development as a 4-H agent in central Vermont. In 2005 she launched her private practice as a licensed counselor orienting herself toward Bowen Family Systems Theory with emphasis on resiliency. Monika loved music. Her beautiful folk voice most frequently accompanied “Sara”, her soothing Celtic harp, as she sang and played at many performances and celebrations. In 2000 she produced the CD “The Walk to Dawn” with Nicole Gilbert whom she met at the historic Fisk Farm in Isle La Motte, a place Monika forever held close to her heart. As a member of the Burlington Songwriters Group, she relished the challenge and support received while presenting new material at the monthly meetings and also took great joy at providing music and organizing a holiday chorus for the Winooski United Methodist Church. Up to the time of her death she had been composing original works to feature on her next CD. Monika developed herself into an expert public speaker. In 1997 she joined Toastmasters of Greater Burlington and served as its president and as a district officer. She was the Toastmasters Club senior member having joined just a few weeks before her husband. Monika frequently recorded shows for the University of Vermont Extension Service on WDEV radio and “Across the Fence” on WCAX TV. She gained respect nationally as a presenter on Bowen Family Systems Theory and therapy. Monika is survived by Chris, her husband of twenty-seven years; her sister, Astrid Baege Krembs and daughter, Amber Krembs, of West Palm Beach FL; her sister Marlen Baege Rees and husband C. Roger Rees of Burlington plus their daughter, Eleanor Rees Riggs and husband, Willard A. Riggs, and son Emmett of Waterbury; also Marlen’s and Roger’s daughter, Allyson L. Rees, of Los Angeles. She is survived also by the many loving families of her parents-in-law, Thomas E. and Elizabeth S. Halpin of Essex Junction. Monika was predeceased by her father, mother, and a nephew, Annan F. Krembs. Her families would like to express deep gratitude to Dr. Paul Unger of the Vermont Center for Cancer Medicines as well as the doctors, nurses, and staff of Fletcher Allen Health Care and the Visiting Nurses Association. We greatly appreciate the numerous friends and colleagues who generously supported and encouraged her throughout her journey. A memorial celebration of her life will be held Saturday, November 23, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Silver Maple Ballroom at the Dudley H. Davis Center on the University of Vermont campus. The family invites you to share your memories and online condolences by visiting www.awrfh.com. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in her memory to the Visiting Nurses Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties (www.vnacares.org), the University of Vermont Extension 4-H Fund (www.alumni.uvm.edu/giving/extension), or the Brownell Library Foundation, Inc. (www.brownelllibrary.org). This world is not conclusion; A sequel stands beyond, Invisible, as music, But positive, as sound. . . . . - Emily Dickinson
April 1, 1959 - October 29, 201304/01/195910/29/2013
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MONIKA INGEBORG BAEGE, Ed.D. ESSEX JUNCTION - Monika Baege, 54, passed away peacefully on the sunbathed autumn afternoon of October 29, 2013 at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington. Her two sisters and her husband were at her side. Monika was born April 1, 1959 in Dortmund, Germany, the daughter of Hermann and Ingeborg (Meyer) Baege. She married Christopher Halpin of Essex Junction on July 5, 1986 at the summit of Mount Philo in Charlotte, Vermont during a fierce thunderstorm. Monika attended schools in Madison NJ and graduated in 1981 from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a bachelor of arts with individual concentration in dance therapy. She earned her masters of arts in 1993 in community counseling and her doctorate in 2005 in educational leadership and policy studies. She engaged in further postgraduate training at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family in Washington DC. Dr. Baege practiced as a licensed counselor in Burlington and served as a board member and faculty chair for the Vermont Center for Family Studies and as a board member for the Murray Bowen Archives Project of Leaders for Tomorrow. She was committed to making Dr. Bowen’s archives at the National Library of Medicine accessible to all. Dr. Baege also served as a faculty fellow for the James M. Jeffords Center for Policy Research at the University of Vermont. Following her undergraduate studies, Monika developed movement programs for youth and parents at the South Mountain YMCA in Maplewood NJ where she soon became program director. In 1998 she moved to South Royalton VT and joined the University of Vermont Extension Faculty delivering leadership education for positive youth development as a 4-H agent in central Vermont. In 2005 she launched her private practice as a licensed counselor orienting herself toward Bowen Family Systems Theory with emphasis on resiliency. Monika loved music. Her beautiful folk voice most frequently accompanied “Sara”, her soothing Celtic harp, as she sang and played at many performances and celebrations. In 2000 she produced the CD “The Walk to Dawn” with Nicole Gilbert whom she met at the historic Fisk Farm in Isle La Motte, a place Monika forever held close to her heart. As a member of the Burlington Songwriters Group, she relished the challenge and support received while presenting new material at the monthly meetings and also took great joy at providing music and organizing a holiday chorus for the Winooski United Methodist Church. Up to the time of her death she had been composing original works to feature on her next CD. Monika developed herself into an expert public speaker. In 1997 she joined Toastmasters of Greater Burlington and served as its president and as a district officer. She was the Toastmasters Club senior member having joined just a few weeks before her husband. Monika frequently recorded shows for the University of Vermont Extension Service on WDEV radio and “Across the Fence” on WCAX TV. She gained respect nationally as a presenter on Bowen Family Systems Theory and therapy. Monika is survived by Chris, her husband of twenty-seven years; her sister, Astrid Baege Krembs and daughter, Amber Krembs, of West Palm Beach FL; her sister Marlen Baege Rees and husband C. Roger Rees of Burlington plus their daughter, Eleanor Rees Riggs and husband, Willard A. Riggs, and son Emmett of Waterbury; also Marlen’s and Roger’s daughter, Allyson L. Rees, of Los Angeles. She is survived also by the many loving families of her parents-in-law, Thomas E. and Elizabeth S. Halpin of Essex Junction. Monika was predeceased by her father, mother, and a nephew, Annan F. Krembs. Her families would like to express deep gratitude to Dr. Paul Unger of the Vermont Center for Cancer Medicines as well as the doctors, nurses, and staff of Fletcher Allen Health Care and the Visiting Nurses Association. We greatly appreciate the numerous friends and colleagues who generously supported and encouraged her throughout her journey. A memorial celebration of her life will be held Saturday, November 23, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Silver Maple Ballroom at the Dudley H. Davis Center on the University of Vermont campus. The family invites you to share your memories and online condolences by visiting www.awrfh.com. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in her memory to the Visiting Nurses Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties (www.vnacares.org), the University of Vermont Extension 4-H Fund (www.alumni.uvm.edu/giving/extension), or the Brownell Library Foundation, Inc. (www.brownelllibrary.org). This world is not conclusion; A sequel stands beyond, Invisible, as music, But positive, as sound. . . . . - Emily Dickinson

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Events

Nov
23
Visitation
Saturday, November 23 2013
03:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Silver Maple Ballroom
Dudley H. Davis Center @ UVM
BURLINGTON, VT 05405
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