GUILDERLAND — Harriet May Baumes is remembered by her family as a strong woman and a hard worker who taught her children never to be afraid to try new things.

Harriet (née Douglas) Baumes died on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She was 96.

Mrs. Baumes was born on Oct. 19, 1922 in Colonie to Charles L. and Mabel (née Hine) Douglas. She was raised on Western Avenue in Guilderland, where she spent most of her life before moving to Pennsylvania. She graduated from Altamont High School in 1940.

In her younger days, Mrs. Baumes worked for Delight Cleaners at the Albany County Airport and delivered newspapers for the Albany Times Union.

Mrs. Baumes loved having her family all together, her son Harry Baumes said. He recalled many picnics at Thacher Park and days at Saratoga Lake when he was a child, both involving gatherings of extended family.

“She liked fishing,” Mr. Baumes recalled of his mother. “She taught us not to be afraid to try new things.”

She enjoyed playing pinochle, a love she has passed down to her children and to her grandchildren.

Mrs. Baumes loved decorating her home for the holidays and hosting large holiday gatherings of family. She was an avid cook and baker. At the holidays, Mr. Baumes said, “It was nothing for her to have big Christmas dinners for 15 or 20 people, and she would do everything. There would be about three apple pies, a couple of pumpkin pies, a blueberry pie, and a mincemeat pie.”

She loved music and was especially fond of Dean Martin, Mr. Baume said. She enjoyed singing, although she never performed. One family story holds that, as a child, she played the piano and sang, and that when she did neighbors would come over to listen. If she saw them, though, she would stop, Mr. Baumes said.

She loved her children and was proud of their accomplishments, Mr. Baumes said. After her retirement, she enjoyed traveling to spend time with them and with her grandchildren.

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Harriet May (née Douglas) Baumes is survived by her children: Dr. David Walsh and his wife, Judy, of Spotsylvania, Virginia; Dr. Harry Baumes Jr. and his wife, Sue, of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania; Sandra Beyer and her husband, David, of Richmond, Virginia; Kevin Baumes and his wife, Terry, of Waverly, Pennsylvania; and Michael Baumes and his wife, Linda, of Altamont. She is also survived by eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

She is survived, too, by her sister, Shirley Dudziec of Guilderland, and five nieces.

Her parents, Charles L. and Mabel (née Hine) Douglas died before her, as did her siblings Kenneth, Charles, and Constance, and her former husbands, John Walsh and Harry Baumes Sr.

Interment will be at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Guilderland. The family thanks the staff of Mountain View Care Center for the care they gave to Mrs. Baumes over the last four years of her life.

Memorial contributions may be made in her name to a favorite charity.

Mrs. Baumes’s family invites her friends to attend a memorial service in Altamont, on Saturday, March 16, at 1 p.m. at the Ciderhouse Restaurant at the Orchard Creek Golf Club at Altamont Orchards, 6700 Dunnsville Road.

— Elizabeth Floyd Mair