Dee Ann Baer (1954-2026) quietly slipped into eternity on August 26, 2026, surrounded by the family she loved fiercely and served faithfully throughout her life. 

If there was one thing Dee Ann never said, it was "Let’s make this about me." She preferred life to be about everyone else. If someone needed help, she helped. If someone needed encouragement, she encouraged. If someone needed cookies, she probably already had a batch in the oven.

 Dee Ann was not a complainer. She was a collector of complaints. Some people address problems immediately. Dee Ann preferred to age them properly. Years later she might casually mention something that bothered her as though the conversation had never stopped.

 One of Dee Ann’s greatest gifts was her ability to call you by every name except your own. Family members affectionately referred to this process as “The Rolodex.” Veterans learned there was a brief window of opportunity to escape before she reached the correct name. Even the family pets understood this survival strategy. 

Long before she became Hunny, Dee Ann operated one of Artesia’s most memorable daycare programs. Generations of children remember the wooden fort, the Jupiter Jump, and the loving but firm guidance of Mrs. Baer.

 After her daycare years, Dee Ann worked at Honey Depot and later at CVE Electric Cooperative. If your electricity went out in the middle of the night, there was a good chance Dee was answering your panicked call, quietly waking crews and dispatching help while everyone else slept.

 Dee Ann's relationship with church closely resembled her relationship with work: you got out of it what you put into it. As a faithful tither and servant, the family fully expects her heavenly accommodations to resemble a gold-plated penthouse. Yet her greatest joy at church was caring for crying babies so everyone else could hear the sermon.

 To her grandchildren, Hunny was a world-class “cookie dealer”. Her chocolate chip cookies were legendary. Nutrition guidelines were treated as recommendations rather than requirements.

Like many grandmothers, Dee Ann had a unique food storage system involving Country

Crock containers. Looking for butter often resulted in finding meatloaf, beans, or leftovers. The label on the container was merely a suggestion. The contents were between Dee Ann and the Lord. 

When it came to vacations, Dee Ann specialized in quietly recruiting unsuspecting companions for trips to Ruidoso. At the horse races her strategy was simple: Never bet on a gray horse, and never bet more than two dollars. 

Dee Ann was preceded in death by her parents Earl and Barbara Harrison, brothers Bob and Steve Harrison, sister-in-law Lynn Harrison, and beloved grandson Miles Theodore Baer. 

She is survived by her children Derrick Baer and wife Desiree, and Deena Watters and husband Gary; grandchildren Jarek, Jaxon, and Subrina; brothers Jerry and Wendell Harrison; and countless relatives, friends, church families, and former daycare children.

 A Celebration of Life will be held at Catalyst Church in Artesia, New Mexico, on October 9, 2026, at 3:00 PM. A reception will immediately follow at the church. Guests are encouraged to share their favorite Dee Ann stories.

 In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to a church, nursery ministry, children's program, or another organization dedicated to serving children. 

We will remember the wooden fort, the Jupiter Jump, the horse races, the crying babies she comforted, the Country Crock containers full of everything except butter, and, most of all, the chocolate chip cookies. 

As you leave, hug your family, help someone who needs it, bake a batch of cookies, and remember Dee Ann's timeless wisdom: Never bet on a gray horse. Never bet more than two dollars.

 And if Heaven is anything like we imagine, Dee Ann has already found the kitchen, baked a fresh batch of cookies, picked up a crying baby, and called three angels by the wrong name before finally getting the right one.

 And honestly, that sounds exactly like Dee Ann.