Sheila Yvonne Bing - Baker
Sept. 4, 1953 - Mar. 24, 2002 - Eternity
"Gone to heaven a shoutin'" - but way too soon.
A Very Special Angel
Missed by all those she touched and still touches!

Sheila, a lady and a companion
If you have anything you would like to share about Sheila's life, feel free to e-mail me at gene@pad39a.com
From a co-worker -
Sheila was a very loving woman. We talked about you and her a lot. I was shocked when I read your web site about her departure.... I never met a more beautiful and trusting person..... Sheila was just that, an angel.... I can't explain the feeling I received when I met her..... Please forgive any mistakes in my writing, but I am crying as I write you this letter because I feel so proud to have been a part of Sheila's life.....
From a friend -
In more ways than anyone else in my entire life she was my best friend, she made everything seem possible.
She did everything with a flair. Even her death was spectacular, skipping her little RAV4 along the top of a hundred feet of guard rail, in the midst of a hailstorm, all the while shredding and dispersing it’s contents to the wind before tumbling end over end down a long embankment to the service road below with a tremendous thud. She was my special angel, but I was angry that she left this earth so soon - and without me.

I had first met her eight years and four months earlier at a television station that I managed. She had come to be interviewed about a home business. Sheila Bing was for the moment a shy, blonde, slightly overweight stay-at-home mom. Her nervousness on the interview set betrayed the existence of self-confidence that bubbled just below the surface, ready to explode in the direction of any new challenge. Before leaving the studio, she got wind of a job opening for public affairs director. She tried to get a friend to apply for the job, but the friend tossed the challenge right back at her. Of course she had no TV experience, but lack of experience had never stopped this fireball from attempting even the most unlikely project.

In short order I was presented with a completed job application and a resume. Her past as a St. Joseph, Missouri police dispatch supervisor didn’t seem to fit the picture I had, but I was fascinated by her spunk and called her in for an interview and audition. Put up beside a professional television host, her audition was embarrassing. She left dejected, sure that she had failed to make the proper impression, but I was not of the same mind. In seven years as station manager, I had learned that desire and being teachable far outweighed preconceived ideas and a polished finish. There were other job candidates, perhaps cuter and smoother, but something intangible and still hidden kept bringing me back to the apparently shy blonde housewife. I notified her that her mission, should she accept it, was to begin her television career on January third in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four.

After the holidays she came to work full of anticipation and eager to learn. We spent many hours together as I instructed her in the finer points of her job. Her self confidence blossomed as she began to grab onto the concepts of identifying community problems, setting up interviews with those who had something to contribute, and finally conducting the actual on-camera interview for her three-times-weekly public affairs program, On Your Street. Her myriad contacts with community leaders as a result of her many previous jobs and activities were invaluable. She was not intimidated by any person and could schmooze with the best of them. Her beliefs in and commitment to the goals of our Christian television station soon gave me the assurance that I could place in her complete trust to fully represent our organization.

The TV years

For nearly three years we worked together closely. We were a team on a mission. My respect for Sheila’s work and for Sheila as a person grew and I considered her to be a good friend. Nevertheless, there came issues in my own life that lead me to resign from my position as station manager and it seemed that the magic we had was to be no more. My successor had different plans for the station, Sheila’s hopes and dreams were dashed, and within months she left. I often felt that I had let her down, but she never held it against me. She began a trek through a dark time in her life - a divorce from her husband of twenty-seven years and jobs that she ended up despising. Still, she was a survivor with a never-give-up attitude. From time to time throughout those years, I would receive an e-mail from her asking for a job reference or sharing a bit of news, or there might be a concerned phone call if she heard of an airplane crash that she thought could involve me. I hurt for the things that she was going through, but being a faithfully married man, kept my emotional distance.

It would be after the failure of my own marriage of twenty-nine years that I would finally contact Sheila for advice and comfort. Our first evening together as old friends was spent on a park bench on a Missouri River bank with her dog Cookie. We talked of memories, trials, sorrows, and disappointments. We found comfort in a friendship that wouldn‘t die. We met again and again. Christmas was approaching and we attended the Kansas City Plaza lighting celebration along with two-hundred thousand of our closest friends. Somewhere in midst of the ceremony, our eyes met and the magic was back bigger than ever. We were once again an unstoppable team, this time in the likeness of Romeo and Juliet. We kissed and the crowds were gone. We were in a new and wonderful world of our own. Together we rose up out of our individual disappointments and pain to live every day to the fullest. From that day forward, there was no doubt that we would be inseparable until death. We set out on a journey filled with joy. Our faces were never without smiles. We traveled, we dined, we worshipped, we shared, we flew, we heard, we saw, we hugged, we snuggled and we cried. I was her hero and she was mine. Spring came and on March 16th I asked her to marry me. She responded with an immediate and enthusiastic, "Yes", and we began making plans.

Eight short days later, she was home in the arms of Jesus. A song on the tape she had made for me a few short weeks before foretold, "Someday I'm gonna be safe in the arms of love." Little did we know how soon. We spent the afternoon before her accident driving around Savannah and Maryville, reminiscing about her days as a young mother and wife, raising the daughters she adored. Only weeks before we had walked the streets of Mound City, her childhood home. We retraced the steps her tiny feet had taken from school to the humble home that she and her mother had shared. Little did we know how soon her journey on this earth would be over.

I am so thankful that God allowed her in my life. I miss her and my life will never be the same because of her. But, I was only one of thousands who were touched by her in some way. There were the men, women, and children whose lives were saved by the policemen and firemen she directed during her years as a dispatcher. There were the shut-ins and elderly who were encouraged and comforted by her television program. There were the abuse victims who were protected by her work and prayers as a court administrator at her last job. There were her daughters to whom she was so much more than a mother and a friend. In her short life she did more to make the world a better place than most would do in a hundred years. Sheila, we love you and miss you. One fine day we'll sit around heaven and talk about what a LIFE it was!!

Matthew 25:23 ......Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Sheila, the co-pilot

More Pictures - What Sheila had to say about herself. - Kansas City Lights

When Sheila stood for something, she gave it her all.
These are some of the things that she stood for.
First and foremost, her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ?
Her family
Honesty
Right to Life
Feeding the birds and squirrels
Organ Donation
( She donated hers so someone else could live )
La Leche League
National Rifle Association
Seat Belts  ( Even though they couldn't save her )
A favorite song introduced to me by Sheila

Go Rest High On That Mountain
Vince Gill

I know your life
On earth was troubled
And only you could know the pain
You weren't afraid to face the devil
You were no stranger to the rain

Chorus:
Go rest high on that mountain
Son, your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a shoutin'
Love for the Father and the Son

Oh, how we cried the day you left us
We gathered round your grave to grieve
I wish I could see the angels faces
When they hear your sweet voice sing

Chorus:
Go rest high on that mountain
Son, your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a shoutin'
Love for the Father and the Son
Distant Angel
by Caroline Leakey

You are my distant angel,
Watching over me with care.
I can not help to think,
What would happen if you were still here.
Love lives on in whispered prayers,
Of a happier life for you.
You are my distant angel,
And I will always love you.

I'm afraid to live without you,
Afraid to face my own fears.
You have been my distant angel,
Through all of your last years.
There will never be another,
Who has changed my life like you.
You are my distant angel,
Through everything I do.

As the days, the weeks, the months go by,
And I sit alone and wonder why.
Why did you leave me,
And where did you go?
Though you are watching over me,
I still feel alone.

My heart starts to ache, and my eyes start to cry.
Living without you has left a hole in my life.
You have been my distant angel,
Through all the thick and thin.
May God bless you and keep you,
Until we meet again.
A poem sent to me by my dear daughter, Becca, who also loved Sheila as a friend and special person in her Dad's life

Letter from Heaven

To my dearest family, some things I'd like to say.
But first of all, to let you know, that I arrived okay.
I'm writing this from heaven. Here I dwell with God above.
Here, there's no more tears of sadness; Here is just eternal love.

Please do not be unhappy just because I'm out of sight.
Remember that I am with you every morning, noon and night.
That day I had to leave you when my life on earth was through.
God picked me up and hugged me and He said, "I welcome you.

It's good to have you back again, you were missed while you were gone.
As for your dearest family, They'll be here later on. I need you here badly,
you're part of my plan. There's so much that we have to do, to help our mortal man."

God gave me a list of things, that he wished for me to do.
And foremost on the list, was to watch and care for you.
And when you lie in bed at night the day's chores put to flight.
God and I are closest to you....in the middle of the night.

When you think of my life on earth, and all those loving years.
Because you are only human, they are bound to bring you tears.
But do not be afraid to cry: it does relieve the pain.
Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain.

I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned.
If I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand.
But one thing is for certain, though my life on earth is over.
I'm closer to you now, than I ever was before.

There are many rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb;
But together we can do it by taking one day at a time.
It was always my philosophy and I'd like it for you too;
That as you give unto the world, the world will give to you.

If you can help somebody who's in sorrow and pain;
Then you can say to God at night......
"My day was not in vain."
And now I am contented....that my life was worthwhile.
Knowing as I passed along the way I made somebody smile.

So if you meet somebody who is sad and feeling low;
Just lend a hand to pick him up, as on your way you go.
When you're walking down the street and you've got me on your mind;
I'm walking in your footsteps only half a step behind.

And when it's time for you to go....
From that body to be free.
Remember you're not going.....
You're coming here to me.

Author Unknown

Where You Are

Journey Through Where Love Prevails

A website that Sheila sent to me.

Sheila's last e-mail to friends and family ....
From: "Sheila Baker"
To:
Subject: Roses
Date sent: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 17:59:43 -0600

Some of you are my friends, and some of you are family .... I care so much for you all. Thank you for being in my life. I cherish each one of you.

Fw: Roses

THE YELLOW ROSES READ THIS!!!! and then reread it. Especially the last part...

I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 37 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories. Rudy often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to.

I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands. Rudy knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since Rudy had passed on. Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two. Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how Rudy had loved his steak. Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large pack of T-bones, dropped them in her basket, hesitated, and then put them back. She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks. She saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know." I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes.

"My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her. Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. "Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together." She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away. I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy. Quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream section near the front of the store. If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone. I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front.

I saw first the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package.

On her face was the brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine. As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes. These are for you," she said and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms. "When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again. I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my vision.

I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know? Suddenly the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone. "Oh, Rudy, you haven't forgotten me, have you? I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.

Every day be thankful for what you have and who you are. (Please read all of this, it is really nice) This is a simple request. If you appreciate life, send this to your friends, including the person that sent it to you.

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings. Thank you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible. Thank you, Lord, that I can see. Many are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising. Thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned and tempers are short, my children are so loud. Thank you,Lord,for my family. There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced. Thank you, Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.

Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest. Thank you, Lord, for life.

Pass this on to the friends you know. It might help a it to make this world a better place to live, right?

A friend is someone we turn to when our spirits need a lift. A friend is someone to treasure. For friendship is a gift. A friend is someone who fills our lives with Beauty, Joy and Grace and makes the world we live in a better and happier place.

YOU ARE MY FRIEND! Now send this to every friend you have and don't forget me.

The song we cried to... March 9th, 2002
Hero
Enrique Iglesias

Let me be your hero

Would you dance if I asked you to dance?
Would you run and never look back?
Would you cry if you saw me cryin'?
And would you save my soul tonight?

Would you tremble if I touched your lips?
Would you laugh?
Oh please tell me this
Now would you die for the one you loved?
Hold me in your arms tonight

I can be your hero, baby
I can kiss away the pain
I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away

Would you swear that you'll always be mine?
Or would you lie?
Would you run and hide?
Am I in too deep?
Have I lost my mind?
I don't care, you're here tonight

I can be your hero, baby
I can kiss away the pain
I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away

Oh, I just want to hold you
I just want to hold you, oh yeah
Have I lost my mind?
Well, I don't care, you're here tonight

I can be your hero, baby
I can kiss away the pain
I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away

I can be your hero, baby
I can kiss away the pain
And I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away
You can take my breath away

I can be your hero

More Pictures - Gene's Homepage