‘A true citizen’
Shelley Bahr, longtime Taos Autumn Run coordinator, dies
Shelley Bahr grew up and built a career in Ohio and raised her four children there.
But Taos is where she found the community she loved.
Bahr, who put her heart and soul into volunteering to help her adopted community, died Nov. 14. She was 82.
“Shelley was a true ‘citizen’….she loved being a part of Taos and gave tirelessly of herself. She had a great sense of humor, told it like it was and was one of the best friends you could ever ask for,” said Debbie Friday Jagers, one of Bahr’s friends.
“It’s hard to sum up the essence of Shelley in a few words…she was so much in so many ways.”
Bahr spent summers in Taos until she moved to the town full time at age 55. “She felt a sense of community here,” said her daughter Debra Morrison.
As a mom, “she taught us all to be independent thinkers,” Morrison said. “She taught us what it is to give back to the community, the importance of taking care of yourself and the world around you. That the most important thing you can give is your time.”
Bahr, said her daughter, was a powerhouse.
She was known for volunteering with a variety of organizations. Her contributions earned her an honor in 2001 as an Unsung Hero, an annual recognition of nine people who work to improve Taos and Taos County.
Bahr was the longtime organizer as part of Taos Auto Enthusiasts of the popular Annual Taos Autumn Run car show. The event each year brought together hundreds of people and beautiful cars to raise scholarship funds for high school graduates and seed money for youth development projects.
In May 1996, as part of the Red Cross in Taos, she coordinated thousands of meals for people who fled the Hondo Fire.
Bahr was instrumental in helping make the Taos Youth and Family Center a reality. She mentored students in Taos schools and helped with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps.
“She was a doer. Up until the very end, she was working,” Morrison said.
Bahr continued to volunteer and work on projects even as she battled numerous illnesses in the last several years, including Lyme disease and cancer, said her daughter.
Bahr is survived by her children, David C. Kravitz, Robert A. Kravitz, Debra A. Morrison and Patricia L. Kravitz, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and numerous friends.
The family is planning a celebration of Bahr’s life in the spring of 2019 on the Taos Plaza. More information will be provided in the future.