Grace Nadine Baker Bjorkman

Grace Nadine Baker Bjorkman, Nadine, died peacefully with her son, Tom and daughter-in-law, Roxanne, at her side on Feb. 19, 2015 at Birch Bay Retirement Village in Bar Harbor, Maine. She was known among her friends, family and coworkers as a woman of persistent good humor who never lacked for a quip to bring a smile.  She might describe her life, as she often did her day, as "fine as frog hair." She had a passion for staying in touch with family and friends, early on by mail and telephone and later in life by email.  Her life centered on family, faith and church. She lived her faith, loving others as God loves them without regard to circumstance, color, politics or religious affiliation. Nadine was born on July 19, 1921, in Charleston Ark., the daughter of Thomas Victor "Vick" Baker and Ruth Bryan Bittle Baker. She attended public schools in Branch and Fort Smith, Ark. She married Bernie Bjorkman from Stillwater Minn. in April 1943, whose National Guard unit was called up and stationed at nearby Camp Chaffee during World War II. They lived in Fort Smith until 1958 and then in North Little Rock after Bernie was transferred to his company's headquarters office in Little Rock. In 2006, Nadine moved to the Parker Ridge Retirement Community in Blue Hill Maine to be near Tom. She was a devoted member of the First Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Central Baptist Church in North Little Rock and then the First Baptist Church in Blue Hill. Nadine's son, Tom, and daughter-in-law, Roxanne Donahey, live in Blue Hill, Maine. Her granddaughter, Anne Bjorkman and Anne's husband Hannes Dempewolf live in Oberwinter Germany. Nadine's husband, Bernie, died in 1998. She was predeceased by her brother, T.J. of Houston, Texas. She is survived by family and friends across the United States and Germany. Nadine was an accomplished organizer and communicator and thrived in a working environment. Her first job was recording transactions at a cotton gin in Waldron, Ark. Her last job was as the Arkansas state representative for the Southern Baptist Convention annuity board, the first woman to serve in that capacity. In between, she worked at the Retail Credit Bureau, Berry Dry Goods and Belle Point School in Fort Smith and as the secretary to the pastor of the First Baptist Church. After moving to North Little Rock in 1958, Nadine worked for many years as secretary to the Executive Director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention in Little Rock. Following her retirement in 1983, she was a committed volunteer at Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock as well as in the office at Central Baptist Church. The family will hold remembrance gatherings for friends at Central Baptist Church in North Little Rock and with family members in Fort Smith in early June. The family asks friends to consider a donation in Nadine's memory to a charity that she faithfully supported, the Arkansas Baptist Children's Homes, whose mission is to care for children and families in crisis (on line at www.abchomes.org or by mail at ABC Homes, 10 Remington Drive, Little Rock Ark. 72204).