Ardis Velda Baad January 28, 1943 – November 5, 2026, Ardis Velda (Smith) Baad, age 83, of Colon, Michigan, passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 5, 2026, after battling Parkinson's disease dementia.

Ardis was born on January 28, 1943, in Battle Creek, Michigan, to Harold Jay Smith and Evelyn (Gilson) Smith. She grew up in Delton, Michigan. On June 1, 1968, she married Donald "Don" Baad, and together they raised three children, first in Michigan and then in Goshen and Orland, Indiana, before returning to Michigan.

Above all, Ardis was a homemaker and mother. She also had a lifelong love of words and stories. She worked as a newspaper reporter for the Goshen News, the Bronson Journal, the Coldwater Daily Reporter, and the Battle Creek Enquirer and News. She also served as a librarian in Middlebury, Indiana, in the 1980s and in Orland, Indiana, in the 1990s. An avid reader, she never stopped looking for her next good book.

Faith was central to her life. She was active in Sugar Grove Church in Goshen, Indiana, Fairview Missionary Church in Angola, Indiana, and, most recently, Lockwood Community Church in Coldwater, Michigan. She also gave her time to Reach the Forgotten, a jail ministry, serving in Branch County.

Ardis is survived by her husband of 58 years, Don; her sons John (Tracy) Baad and Jim (Shannon) Baad; her daughter Julia Baad; and her grandchildren Cameron, Makenna, Jacob, and Olivia.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Ardele (Smith) Philport.

The Baad family will receive friends and relatives on Monday, November 9, 2026, from 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM at Lockwood Community Church: 202 E Lockwood Rd, Coldwater, MI 49036. A funeral service will begin immediately after the visitation at 11:30 AM. Private interment will take place at Lakeside Cemetery in Colon. In lieu of flowers the family asks memorial donations to be made to the Lockwood Community Church Global Ministries Team. Envelopes will be available at church.