Born May 24, 1922, Louise B. Matthias passed away Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015.

Twenty years old, with a degree from Scudder Secretarial School in New York and newly fluent in Spanish, Louise Baker set off for Bogota, Colombia. Her plan: to be a bilingual secretary and to help establish a new vision for the people she met there.

Louise worked for oil companies in Colombia and in Venezuela and also lived in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and later in Portugal, where she met her husband. She taught the people she met her beliefs -- that the prophecies of all religions have been fulfilled and that God has spoken again. She taught them it was time to put aside race and religion as barriers and to take up service and virtue instead. Her pure heart and her sweet spirit elevated all she met, both in those years and since. Happiness was her gift to the world. She was always happy for everyone and delighted in their plans and hopes. She encouraged them in their dreams and counseled them in their pain. She came to Texas in 1958 with her husband, Dr. Hubert L.C. Matthias, a political science professor at UTA, and lived in Arlington until the age of 88. Then, once again, she moved to South America. This time she set up household with her brother, Dr. William King Baker, who also served the Baha'i Faith's vision of uniting and serving the world by establishing an environmental institute in Bolivia. Louise ran her brother's home and served the citizens of his small town until she turned 91. Then she returned home to live, once again, with her daughter and son-in-law in Arlington. Her family and friends mourn the loss of this eloquent, courageous and kind woman. Her spirit lives on in our hearts and the encouragement and love she poured out to us will sustain us even in this loss. Thank you for coming to this world, Louise Baker Matthias. It will never be the same.

Her daughter and son-in-law, Dorothy and Frank Gilstrap, her grandson, Charles Matthias Freeman, as well as her brother and extended family are forever grateful for her constant and joyful presence in their lives.