Ted Burton Baker

1917 - 2011

Ted Burton Baker passed from this life to heaven from cancer Saturday, April 23, 2011, at his home in Iowa. He would have been 94 years old in June.
Ted was born June 25, 1917 in Dayton, Mont., to Fredric Edward Baker and Florence Mary (Hoots) Baker. His brother, Donn F. Baker, was four years older. The family moved from Dayton to Corning, Calif., then to a ranch in Janesville, Calif., where Ted finished grade school. Ted was baptized there in Baxter Creek at age 10. Ted attended Lassen High School in Susanville, Calif. He and Donn did the ranch chores. They hunted and fished to fill the meat locker and swam, played marbles and crack the whip on the (frozen) lake for fun.
After high school, Ted worked for Standard Oil for about a year and worked on farms during harvest season maintaining equipment and loading crops on wagons.
He married Vivian Mae Hunt on June 24, 1939, in Willows, Calif. Ted and Vivian had a son, David Lynn Baker, born Sept. 8, 1940, who only lived one day, a grief they always remembered.
Their son, Ted Eugene Baker, was born about a year before Ted was drafted into the Navy during World War II. Ted said leaving his wife and little boy was the hardest thing he ever did. It was so uncertain - he didn't know where he was going or if he would ever return. Ted was sent overseas on March 17, 1945, to the South Pacific and served on Saipan. He was an aviation ordnance man second class and served as an aerial gunner on a PBY doing search and rescue. He was discharged on Dec. 7, 1945.
After the war, Ted returned and built a home in Susanville and worked as a butcher and auto body mechanic. In 1947, after a "scouting" trip in 1946, the family moved to Alaska. Ted worked for ACS putting in phone poles up the Alcan Highway.
Later, he worked for the Civil Aviation Authority which became the Federal Aviation Administration. While in the FAA, the family was stationed at Katella, Bettles, Cordova, (where daughter, Mary Anna, was born), Talkeetna and Fairbanks.
During his time in Alaska, Ted did as much hunting and fishing as possible. He ran a commercial fishing boat in Cordova. In Talkeetna, he purchased a Tripacer from good friend, Don Sheldon, who flew climbers on and off Mount McKinley. He helped Don take care of hunters, and was gunner on aerial wolf hunts. Ted had a log cabin built across the river from Talkeetna on a homesite by a local Talkeetna man. He and two friends built an airboat used to take family and friends on many hunting adventures across the river.
After retiring from the FAA in 1971, Ted and Vivian traveled to the Philippines to assist missionary friends. They took trips to several other countries as well, and visited many parts of the USA. They had a home built in Escondido, Calif., and lived there for awhile near dear friends Leroy and Jane Shebal.
In 1976, the Shebals and Bakers built log cabins next door to each other in North Pole. Not wanting to miss out on seeing their grandchildren grow up in Alaska, Ted and Vivian finally made their permanent residence in Fairbanks for many years on Senate Loop.
They attended Fairbanks First Assembly of God Church where they had been members since 1959. They made many friends through their ministry of hospitality. Ted and Vivian enjoyed numerous special times of fellowship and Rook games with dear friends and close neighbors, Winfield and Janice Beach and their children, Ceri and Greg.
Ted assisted Master Guide Leroy Shebal on numerous hunting trips in the Brooks Range and other areas of Alaska. In later years, he and Eddie Hughes hunted moose at a private site owned by friends.
After Vivian's death in September 1997, Ted met and married Geneva (Ross) Maley, of Colorado, a friend of his pastors, Ed and Jean Hughes. They resided in Fairbanks until Geneva's death in September 2009, after which Ted moved to Waverly, Iowa in March 2010 to live with his daughter, Mary Anna. Ted attended Waverly Open Bible Church and quickly developed many dear friends there. He had many good times with grandchildren and five great-grandchildren there.
Ted is survived by his son, Ted E. Baker (Elizabeth) of Fairbanks and his daughter, Mary Anna Hunstiger of Waverly; grandchildren, Wesley A. Baker (Jacqueline) of Rockledge, Fla., Luana M. Barnes (Rodney) of Portland, Ore., Jennifer Wenger (Jonathan) of New Hartford, Iowa, Patrick M. Hunstiger of Waverly, and Darcy A. Hunstiger of Waverly; 11 great-grandchildren; brother-in-law, Clarence E. Hunt (Mary Olive) of Tomball, Texas; sister-in-law, Viola Hunt (Ron) of Montana and many nephews, nieces and loving friends. He is also survived by Geneva's two daughters: Kathy Illum (Virgil) of Divide, Colo., and Lynn Gray (Walter) of Yuba City, Calif., and by former son-in-law Pat Hunstiger of Texas.
Ted was preceded in death by his son David Lynn; his parents; his wife Vivian; brother Donn; his second wife Geneva; and brothers-in-law, Ronald, George and E. Jay Hunt.
A viewing will be held from 5-7 p.m., Thursday, April 28, at Kaiser-Corson Funeral Home in Waverly.
A memorial service and reception will be held from 3-6 p.m., Tuesday, May 3, at First Assembly of God, 2830 Airport Way, in Fairbanks. For information, call 474-9112 or 457-1957.
Ted's body will be laid to rest with his wife Vivian at Northern Lights Memorial Park in Fairbanks.
The family requests donations be made for MCN International Missions to the Philippines and Asia for the medical needs of the Mount Moriah Tribal Training School students, or to help with the school's agricultural program. Donations may be given through the web site at www.mcni.org.
Arrangements were entrusted to Chapel of Chimes Funeral Home.