James Lloyd Baker

WADSWORTH -- James Lloyd Baker escaped his longstanding physical encumbrances on February 7th, 2018.

Surviving him are his two daughters, Jamie Baker-Prewitt (Tom), Julya (Baker) Sembrat (Joe), grandchildren Taylor, Baker, Ozzy, and Lola, and many cousins, friends, and former colleagues and customers.

Jim was a southerner. Born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, he grew up in south Texas, and earned his bachelor degree in chemistry from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. There he met lifelong friends, got in some trouble not suitable for description here, and fell in love with Martha Ann Davenport, his wife of 40 years. James had a successful 20-year career in chemical and industrial sales and sales management. Then in the early 1980s, he and Marty founded Advance Aquasystems, a water purification company serving residential and commercial customers in the Akron-Cleveland area for 30 years.

Martha Ann died suddenly in 2003, and in 2007, he began a loving relationship with Kay Tuttle, a dear friend from decades earlier.

Jim loved music, especially jazz, sports, especially Cleveland Cavaliers basketball, and humor, especially his own. He was inspired by science, analytical in his thinking, and precise in his communication. Above all else, James was a storyteller whose tales described a life with a range of experiences, from getting into trouble as a boy in the watermelon fields of south Texas, to those two-week business trips to South America that ended with him arriving home with a suitcase full of gifts for his daughters and wife. His life was varied, and he loved the diversity of people he encountered along the way.

A Celebration of Life event will be held at Peachtree, a restaurant in Hudson, Ohio, on Saturday, February 17th, 2018, from 4:00 to 7:00. Please join his family for a drink and a bite. We will remember Jim and tell stories about a southern man who made a bunch of northerners laugh. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Hudson High School Music Association in Jim's honor to benefit young jazz musicians in Hudson. Please mail checks to Kristy Fischer, 7105 Colesbrooke Drive, Hudson, Ohio, 44236, and contact jazzvp.hhsma@gmail.com with questions.