Obituary for
Lenn Baker
submitted by Shirley
Webb
Graveside services are scheduled for Saturday, October 18, 2003, at 1 p.m. in Newberry Cemetery in Parker County, Texas for Lenn Baker of Nacogdoches, Texas (formerly of Lubbock and Temple, Texas) who died Saturday, October 11, 2003, in Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital ICU after a brief illness.
Lenn Baker, the youngest of ten children, was born February 2, 1922, in Rochester, Haskell County, Texas while his extended family was gradually moving west to Terry County, Texas in a mule drawn covered wagon. The families were looking for better farm land and greener pastures after the land at "the old home place" in Parker county had "wore out."
With the onset of World War II he left his home in Wellman, Terry County, Texas to serve his country in the Navy. After the war he returned home and soon moved fifty miles northeast to Lubbock, Texas where he began building houses single-handedly during the post war boom. While doing this, his pregnant wife helped him roof a house late into the night and had their son early the next morning.
He soon found employment with Southwestern Public Service Company in the engineering department where he worked for many years buying the right of way for electrical transmission lines throughout West Texas. Later he became a supervisor in the carpentry shop of Texas Tech University from which he retired in 1984. He passed his love of wood working and carpentry to his son, and together they used their combined skills to restore two historic homes in Nacogdoches, Texas.
After his retirement he moved to Temple, Texas with his second wife, Genevia Priddy Baker, who was the widow of his oldest brother, Luke. Genevia has always been much loved and dear to the Baker family. In retirement, Lenn and Gene "ran the roads" of the Hill Country, fished and helped raise four of Gene's grandchildren Dale, Terry, Timmy and Darla, and they lived and loved life together. Lenn and Gene moved to Nacogdoches, Texas, in the summer of 2002 to be closer to their son.
Lenn was preceded in death by his first wife Juanita, who died in 1962, and by two brothers, Luke and Claude, and three sisters. Lorene, Viola and Iona.
He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Genevia Baker, of Nacogdoches, Texas; her daughter, Ann Hunnicutt of Odessa, Texas; grandchildren, Dale Cravey of Austin, Texas, Terry Cravey of Granite Shoals, Texas, Tim Cravey of Fort Worth, Texas, and Darla Welter of Exira, Iowa.
Lenn is also survived by his son, Dr. Richard L. Baker and wife, Cherry, of Nacogdoches, Texas; granddaughters, Robin Baker Perkins of Lubbock, Texas, and Elizabeth Baker of Nacogdoches, Texas; step-son, Don Hickey of Wellington, Texas; sisters, Nell Thompson of Lubbock, Texas, Evelyn Adair of Wellman, Texas, and Naomi Caffey of Seagraves, Texas; brother, Glen Baker of Wellman, Texas; and many nieces, nephews, great-grandchildren; in-laws and out-laws.
Lenn was a hard-working, generous, gentle and devoted family man who never complained despite the hardships he endured in his life. He found the Lord again in later life and never wavered from his teachings. He instilled many fine qualities and much love in his sons and grandchildren, which will be his legacy.
He will be laid to rest next to his parents and grandparents in Newberry Cemetery, a family cemetery, in Parker County, Texas where his grandparents were founding settlers.
Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel 1 Nov 2003