Roger Thomas Baker

1942 - 2021

Roger Thomas Baker passed away at his New Orleans home on Friday, September 17, 2021. He was 78 years old. Born in Houston, Texas on November 9, 1942, Roger was a lifelong scholar, a dry wit, a wonderful husband and father to his family, and a friend to many. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin (graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, with honors), and Columbia University's law school. He was admitted to the Louisiana Bar Association in 1970, and the Texas Bar Association in 1972. He practiced law until his retirement in 1998, when he returned to graduate school to receive a Masters Degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies at Loyola University in New Orleans, winning the Longergan Award. For the next 20 years or so, Roger read avidly, listened to music, corresponded with many, including several of his intellectual heroes, and wrote about the philosophy of science and religion online. He also shot a lot of pool and enjoyed lunches with good friends at a variety of local haunts. His favorite authors included Leo Tolstoy, David Deutsch, Mikhail Bulgakov, Iris Murdoch, Paul Tillich, Erwin Schrodinger, and too many more to mention; his room, to the end, was filled with tall stacks of books and CDs, and his recommendations and thoughtful analyses influenced many family members, friends, and readers over the years. Roger married his wife, Ellen Barrett Baker, in 1969. They settled in New Orleans and had two children and a number of unusual dogs. It was, he often said, a very good life, one he looked back on with satisfaction and a small measure of pride. Roger was predeceased by his beloved brother, Jesse Kirkland Baker II, his mother, Mary Thomas Baker, and father, Dillard Woodward Baker. He is survived by his wife of exactly 50 years, Ellen; their son, Dillard Mills Baker (Abby Myles) and daughter, Alexandra Baker Hude (Keith Hude); four grandchildren, William, James, and Charles Hude, of New Orleans, and Keziah Baker of San Francisco; as well as beloved nieces Mary Rose Baker Browder, Katie Baker Jennings, and Brigitte Barrett. Services are private.To view and sign the online guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.