William Arthur Baker

William Arthur "Bill" Baker was born on the afternoon of January 24, 1945, in Olympia, Washington. His father, Arthur, was a US Army officer, and his mother, Hazel, was a homemaker. Arthur's parents were from England, but sadly passed when he was young. Hazel was born into a big family from Happy Valley, Oregon.

Bill had an older sister, Irene, born in 1941 in Vancouver WA, where his father had long been stationed. He traveled with his family as a small child to postwar Japan, where they lived for five years. Upon their return, they lived for five years in San Francisco, while his father worked at the Presidio Army base. Bill particularly loved San Francisco, and never forgot his time there. The family later moved to Santa Barbara CA, where Bill went to junior high and high school. He married Eileen Ciampi, his high school sweetheart, in 1964 at the age of 19. They had two daughters, Christine Louise and Marnie Lynn. He and Eileen were divorced in 1974, but remained on good terms, co-parenting their daughters.

Bill first worked at the US Post Office for three years, and then joined the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department in 1966. Initially a patrol officer, his intelligence and skill helped him quickly rise to the position of Detective, at age 23 the youngest detective SBSD had ever had. His work with SBSD included stints in Vice, Intelligence and Internal Affairs. He was supervisor of the Homicide Division for 18 years; during his leadership, Homicide attained its highest ever rate of solved cases, and detectives attended a seminar taught by legendary FBI criminal profiler John Douglas at FBI headquarters in Quantico, VA.

In July of 1979, Bill and his partner Fred Ray apprehended serial killer Thor Christiansen in Solvang CA. Bill later became an accomplished forensic hypnotist, helping witnesses recall details of crimes. He also was part of a group of deputies who frequently liasoned with the Secret Service at then-President Ronald Reagan's Santa Barbara County ranch, and met President Reagan on many occasions. He also liaisoned with LAPD, helping with security for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. He earned the rank of Sergeant and worked for SBSD for 25 years, retiring in 1991.

He fell in love and married Debra "Debbie" Constant in 1975 in Tempe, Arizona, where her parents then resided. They had two daughters, Jamie Lynn and Linzi Ann. They lived for many years in Los Alamos CA. In 1993, Bill and Debbie separated and he moved to Los Angeles for work, while still sharing custody of his younger daughters. They separated in 1993 and later divorced.

After his retirement from SBSD, Bill went to work as bodyguard and security coordinator for film actor, producer and director Steven Seagal for four years, often serving as personal bodyguard for Seagal's wife, actress Kelly LeBrock. Later in the 1990s, he also worked in Las Vegas for the head of Hilton Hotels, Conrad Hilton, as his personal driver and bodyguard, did freelance movie security with several productions including "Man On Fire" with Denzel Washington, and also contracted with the Officers Group firm, providing security for US satellite technology at satellite launch sites in Kazakhstan.

Bill traveled as often as he could; to London, England and Israel while working on an international case for SBSD, to Alaska, French Guyana and various other locales with Seagal's company and other film industry work, and to Russia for the US government.

In 2000, his ex-wife Debbie died suddenly, and Bill was forced to return from his work overseas and find an apartment for himself and his youngest daughter in Santa Maria CA. Thereafter followed several difficult years, as he struggled to take care of his daughter while dealing with the grief they both felt at the loss of her mother, and also his own mother, who passed in 2002.

On June 20th, 2003, Bill traveled to San Francisco for a true crime conference put on by his friend Tom Voigt. There he met Lisa Greene, an SF Bay Area-based antiques dealer, through their shared interest in the unsolved Zodiac serial killer case--he had worked a possible Zodiac murder through his management of cold case files as a homicide detective at SBSD in the 1980s.

He and Lisa fell in love and he moved to Vallejo CA in February 2004 to be with her. They were married at San Francisco City Hall on June 14, 2005. Bill spent a comfortable and happy retirement with her, pursuing hobbies such as reading, writing, genealogical research, true crime, cat rescue, wine tasting and travel (including to Ireland). He also opened his own hypnotherapy business in Benicia, CA, working part time on his own schedule, helping patients deal with smoking, depression, health issues and phobias. And, in 2014 he reunited as a retired volunteer with his former partner Fred Ray to help successfully link serial murderer Thor Christiansen with an unsolved cold case in Oregon.

After a valiant nine year battle with Alzheimer's and cancer, he passed peacefully at their home in Vallejo, with his loving Lisa by his side, after more than twenty happy years of marriage.

Bill was a kind, gentle, intellectually brilliant and literate man. He was quiet and diffident, a sensitive introvert who struggled with anxiety throughout life; but also strong and responsible, a fiercely detail-oriented, driven, hardworking man who always wanted to protect and take care of those he loved. He was a devoted father and husband and loved cats and dogs. Animals always instinctively trusted him. He never suffered fools gladly, but he would sacrifice anything for his loved ones, and he had a wonderful wit and gift for wordplay. He was creative and aesthetic, a classic cook, a sculptor, a writer and a gifted clarinet player. He is very much missed.

Bill is survived by his four daughters--Christy Baker of Santa Barbara, Marnie Baker of Los Angeles, Jamie Monighetti (Brian) of Santa Maria, Linzi Cassel (Steven) of Santa Maria, granddaughters Jadyn, Kenna and Madelyn, grandsons Zachary and Brian, first wife Eileen Prinslow, niece Sharon Gunning, and his wife Lisa. He was preceded in death by his second wife Debbie Baker, sister Irene and her husband Marvin Gunning of Santa Ynez, and his parents, Arthur and Hazel Baker of Santa Barbara.