Jerald "Jerry" LeRoy Baker

Jerald LeRoy Baker was born March 6, 1937, in a home near Stennett, Iowa (although he sometimes told us he was born in a manager). His parents LeRoy and Elizabeth Baker raised Jerry and his sisters Joy and Ann in Elliott, Iowa, where Jerry attended high school, competing in football and track and delivering groceries after school. Jerry attended Northwest Missouri State College where he earned a degree in accounting. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1959, serving on the U.S.S. Pickaway and traveling throughout the Pacific. Following his discharge in 1962, Jerry began working for the U.S. Forest Service in southern California, where he met his future wife, Lois. Jerry and Lois were married on March 23, 1963, in Pasadena. During their lives together, Jerry and Lois lived in San

Bernardino, California; Falls Church, Virginia; Lakewood, Colorado; Stone Mountain, Georgia; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jerry and Lois raised two children, Leslie and David. Jerry pursued a career as a personnel manager with the U.S Forest Service and retired as Director of Personnel & Civil Rights for the Southwestern Region in 1989 with 31 years of service.

Jerry and Lois took advantage of Jerry's early retirement to both have adventures and enjoy their home in Albuquerque. Jerry traveled to Iowa often to visit his family. Jerry and Lois spent a couple summers working at Grant Village in Yellowstone National Park, taking moonlit walks along the shores of Yellowstone Lake. They enjoyed traveling to Alaska, at least once in a pop-up camper with their dog Rebel. Jerry greatly enjoyed salmon fishing, camping, and hosting his kids and grandkids for visits on Alaska trips. Jerry continued working with the Forest Service by becoming a bus driver for wildfire crews. One of his most memorable trips was driving a fire crew to search for pieces following the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003.

Jerry was a kind, gentle, and loving husband and father. He enjoyed breakfast fry-ups, fishing, and family, not necessarily in that order. Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, LeRoy Lawrence and R. Elizabeth (Penwell) Baker, his sister Joy Shellberg, his brother Marlin, and his granddaughter Jade Ashlyn Baker. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Lois Esther (Wardell) Baker, son David Baker (Jane Brown), daughter Leslie Hansen (Richard), sister E. Ann Myers, grandson Adam Baker, nieces, a nephew, and numerous grand-nieces and nephews.

The family will be holding a private service at a future date.