EDWIN H. BAKER

BAKER--Edwin H., on February 10, 2014. Beloved husband of Linda Lee Baker and devoted father of Stephen Baker, Audrey Baker Golden and Linda Skolnick and their mates, Claudia Cowan, Mitchell Golden and David Skolnick; loving grandfather of Sabrina and Benjamin Baker, Devin and Adam Skolnick, Dario & Carina Baker Golden. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Ed Baker attended M.I.T., Harvard Law School and received his post-graduate degree in Tax Law at New York University. A gifted writer and thinker, he wrote professionally for "Tax Management," and lectured in his field at various venues in New York and Connecticut. He was a partner at Epstein, Becker and Green's Manhattan office, when he retired from practice, in 2009. There, he had specialized in working closely with clients to determine what he deemed "elegant solutions" for especially complicated tax and estate problems that had often been deemed "insoluble" by other lawyers. In order to keep current in his field, he spent three, nightly hours on professional reading, no matter how exhausting his schedule. This left him too little time to read on other subjects that interested him, so when he retired, he read widely and voraciously on his ever-present "kindle" e-reader and relished taking courses in Politics, History, Science and Music at University of Southern Florida's "Lifelong Learning Program." (In his attempt to make up for lost years of reading in the liberal arts, he had enthusiastically registered for nine courses at USF, this semester, alone.) With friends he made in these courses, he co-founded the Lakewood Ranch History Club, where he was a very active member. Fiercely proud of his Brooklyn roots, he said that, after the Brooklyn Dodgers left Ebbetts Field, he no longer had the heart to watch baseball. Besides enjoying theatre, opera and jazz, he was an avid, lifelong tennis player and bicycle enthusiast. He was never happier than during his retirement years in Sarasota, Florida. A proud member of the Sarasota Jazz Club, he especially enjoyed accompanying his wife, Linda, to hear her sing with her jazz trio jazz at various venues around town, where he was always surrounded by a crowd of friends who shared his love of jazz. Ed was adored by all his family and friends and respected by his colleagues. Funeral services will be held at the chapel of the Sharon Gardens Cemetery in 273 Lakeview Ave., Valhalla, New York, (914)949-0347 on Wednesday, February 12th at 2pm. The family will be receiving visitors in the Gordon Reading Room at the Harvard Club, 27 West 44th Street, (between 5th and 6th Avenues,) New York City (212)827-1270 on Friday, February 14th, from 2-5pm. Contributions in Ed's memory may be sent to one of his favorite organizations, one that he felt is critical to educating anyone who wants to learn about the most serious issues we face as a society, both locally, nationally and internationally: National Public Radio. Please send contributions to WUSF 89.7 4202 East Fowler Ave. TVB 100, Tampa FL 33620. Attn.: Josh Hamel.