Notes for William Thomas Baker

The Generations of Thomas Pine Petznick

Generations

Thomas Pine Petznick

Notes for William Thomas Baker

[janicebagley.ged]
Obituary
William Thomas Baker
On May 20, 1973 near the village of West Bend, Kentucky, William Thomas Baker, more frequently called W.T. or Billy, was born to Joe and Nannie Baker. A full and fruitful like of 91 years and 3 months ended August 20, 1964 in Los Angeles.
He and Carrie Morehead were married on November 21, 1894 at Stanton, Kentucky after a courtship that began in grade school. Her death in 1951 brought to an end their happy marriage of nearly 57 years.
Before his retirement in 1948 when his family moved to Vici, his working life was spent in farming; four years in Kentucky, five years in Missouri, and forty-five years near Vici.
With his wife and two small sons, he came to the Oklahoma Territory in 1903 where they lived in an environment known only to the few true pioneers still living.
They lived in a dugout with all the attendant hardships. There were no schools for the children and no railroad existed nearer than Woodward or Mooreland. It was necessary to haul all farm products to market by lumber wagon and to return with those items which had to be purchased from the stores.
The mailbox was several miles away by buggy, wagon or horseback. Aling with their neighbors they organized the first school named "Liberty" or "Diller", served on the first and many subsequent school boards and boarded the first school teacher.
Their growing family of boys attended this school before it was consolidated with Vici many years ago. He also contributed to bringing in the railroad which helped the community to develop and prosper. He served several terms as a member of the Johnson Township Board, acted as an appraiser for the Federal Land Bank and ws a charter member of the Farmer's co-op.
In 1949, he and his wife mobed to Los Angeles where they made their home with their son, Jimmy. In addition to the loss of his wife Carrie, he also suffered the loss of a daughter, Kathering Naomi in her infancy and of his son, Kenneth in 1960. These losses as well as those of many relatives and good friends grieved him deeply.
As a young man, he was baptised in the Methodist faith and while in later years he was not an active member of a religious congregation, his daily acts, thoughts and deeds characterized the finest aspects of Christianity. The awareness of his love for his family, his complete honesty and lack of malice toward his fellow man will always remain in the memories of his grieving family. They are: Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Baker, Altus; Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Baker, Vivi; Mrs. Kenneth Baker, Woodward; Larry Baker, El Monte; Jimmie Baker, Los Angeles; Mr. and Mrs. Ford Matson, Denver, Colo.; Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Baker, Mr and Mrs Bud Salisbury, and Mr and Mrs Conrad Baker, Vici; Mr and Mrs Virgil Shaw, Buffalo and Keith Baker, Los Angeles, Calif. and 12 great-grandchildren.

| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |
untitled

Website created by Thomas Pine Petznick