Peter K Baillie

This is not an ordinary obituary… this is about Peter K. Baillie, who was a very unique individual. He was going to write his own obituary because he wanted it to be funny, but that did not happen, so I will do my best.

Peter King Baillie was born in Pasadena, CA, on September 12, 1946. He is survived by his wife, Bonnie McCullough Baillie; his sister, Linda Huber; and his nephew, Chase Huber. He is preceded in death by his father and mother, William and Mary Baillie and also his brother, David Baillie.

When he, a confirmed bachelor at 56, married me, Bonnie McCullough, he adopted my whole family: two sons, Shawn McCullough and wife Sheila, and Aaron McCullough and partner Trang; five grandchildren, Liam, Caleb, Helena, John and Isaac McCullough; and also one great-grandchild, Anina Guler.

Peter received his master's degree in history from Drake University. He served in the Army during the Vietnam War, and he lived for 30 years up in the mountains in Clark, Colorado, where he was the manager of the Clark Store, manager of Steamboat Lake Marina and also a wildland firefighter and fire chief for 13 years. As manager of the marina, he began advertising for it on the radio in Steamboat Springs, and his imagination went wild with stories of lighthouses on the lake that could be seen from space and a huge German brown trout named Walter who ate small poodles. To this day, no poodle has come forward to dispute this. He became quite famous as a radio celebrity.

When we married in 2002, he eventually moved to Ohio, and he said if he had to live in Ohio, he wanted to live on the lake, which we finally did. He had always been a Cleveland Indians fan, so transitioning to Ohio was easy, and he came to love it here, even accepting the Guardians new name and the Browns over the Broncos, proving that love can conquer anything, even decades of Browns football. He became active in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, which he loved, first as a radio man and then out on the water for training missions, and he also became the financial officer. He once fell overboard, and it took him a while to live that one down. He would not be happy unless I mentioned his 2012 VW Golf R which he dearly loved and waxed once a week. He was my walking encyclopedia for history, geography, politics and sports. You did not want to go up against Peter in a trivia game!

We used to joke that Peter had nine lives. He survived a helicopter crash in Vietnam; being blown out of his cabin in Clark, CO, into the snow (and the cabin burned down); more than his share of falls (one broken femur, two concussions and zero loss of trivia skills); and five years of cancer chemotherapy. He was a tall, funny man with a big, generous heart, and he loved his family and my whole family: brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews and cousins. They all became his family, as did his many friends, from Colorado to Ohio. I will miss him so much.

A celebration of life will be held on Thursday, October 1, 2026 from 2:00 - 8:00 at Graziano's Woods and Water Event Center, 12506 Mason Road, Vermilion, OH, 44089.

The family suggests memorial contributions to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959.

Online condolences may be shared at www.riddlefuneralhome.com.