Physical Education Teacher Judith Ketchum Baehr Dies Times Picayune 12-20-1996 ************************************************* Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Judith Ketchum Baehr, A Mandeville Physical Education Teacher Who Started The Girls' Athletics Program While At St. Thomas Aquinas High School In Hammond, Died Wednesday Of Colon Cancer At Columbia Lakeview Regional Medical Center. She Was 33. Mrs. Baehr, Who Taught At Pontchartrain Elementary School In Mandeville For The Past 2 1/2 Years, Was Born In New Orleans And Lived In Mandeville And Covington For The Past Three Years. She Was A Former Physical Education Teacher And Coach At St. Thomas Aquinas, Where She Coached The 1991 Boys' Track Team To A State Championship. Mrs. Baehr Started The Girls' Athletics Program At Aquinas And Coached All The School's Sports From 1988-1994, Including Girls' And Boys' Track, Volleyball And Basketball. "She Had A Lot Of Faith," Said Kristi Becerra, A Member Of Baehr's Volleyball And Basketball Teams At St. Thomas Aquinas. "Everything We Did With Athletics Centered Around God. She Stressed That Through Her Coaching." Prior To St. Thomas, She Coached At St. Martin's Episcopal School In Metairie, Her Alma Mater. While Working At St. Martin's, Mrs. Baehr Was Named District Coach Of The Year In Girls' Basketball In The Late 1980s. Last Year, She Was Named Teacher Of The Year At Pontchartrain Elementary. Mrs. Baehr Was As Successful An Athlete As She Was A Coach. At St. Martin's, She Played On Two State Championship Volleyball Teams And Made All State In 1980 In Volleyball. She Won Numerous Honors And Championships As A Member Of The Aau And Middle School Track And Field Teams At T.H. Harris In Metairie. St. Martin Volleyball And Soccer Coach Linda Trevino, Who Coached The Championship Volleyball Teams On Which Mrs. Baehr Played, Described Her As A Driven, Team-Oriented Athlete And Coach. "As A Student Athlete, She Was A Very Dedicated, 110 Percent Type Of Player," Trevino Said. She Said Mrs. Baehr Was An Excellent Coach And Teacher Who Moved On To St. Thomas "So She Could Build Something On Her Own." Mrs. Baehr Is Survived By Her Husband, Lloyd F. Baehr, Iii; Her Parents, Betty Keating Ketchum And Thomas E. Ketchum, Jr. Of Covington; And Three Sisters, Peggy Ketchum And Nancy Dupuy, Both Of Kenner, And Kathy Ketchum Of Metairie. A Funeral Mass Will Be Said Saturday At 1 P.M. At St. Peter's Catholic Church, 128 E. 19th Ave., Covington. Visitation Is Today At Schoen Funeral Home, 1414 S. Tyler St. In Covington, From 6 To 9 P.M., With The Rosary Being Said At 7:30 P.M. Burial Will Be In Pinecrest Memorial Gardens Cemetery.