Obituary of Richard Maxon Baker

Richard Baker, age 95, passed on quietly in his sleep at home on Saturday, October 12, 2019. He was preceded in death by his father, Lee Franklin Baker, mother Lillian Baker and wife Genevieve Louise Baker. He is survived by son, Allen Baker, daughter Diana Stoddard, daughter Judy Reid and son David Baker and grandchildren: Jeffrey, Meredith, Melissa, Nicholas, Rachel, Amanda, Jonathan, Michael, Joseph, Rebekah, Jason, Amanda, Tyler, Christopher, Lauren, and many great-grandchildren.

Richard was born on December 15, 1923, in Rixford, Pennsylvania and grew up in nearby Duke Center, PA. He graduated from Otto-Eldred High School in northwest Pennsylvania in 1942. In February 1943 he was drafted into service in the US Army. For the next 2 years was stationed in various army camps throughout the US. Following that he was assigned to the 1010th Engineer Treadway Bridge Company headed for Europe. In February 1946 he went from England to France where his company joined with the rest of the 3rd Army, and he drove a truck loaded with bridge parts headed across France towards the Rhine River and Germany where he participated in the Rhine River crossing at St. Goar. He received a minor wound by shrapnel late in the war.

After he was discharged from the army Richard went back to college at Mansfield State College where he received his bachelor's degree and met and married his lifelong sweetheart Genevieve. He completed a master's degree in education at Alfred  University after which he and Genevieve moved to Olean, New York. He taught for several years before moving to Delmar, New York, a suburb of Albany where he taught for 34 years while raising his four children.

Richard was a masterful teacher of Math and Science as well as director of the audio-visual club which serviced all the technical needs of the Bethlehem Central Junior High School. He is best known for his wit and ability to engage his students in his current subject matter.

He loved photography, camping, and travel and left behind a legacy of photos of family and most of the United States through which he led his family in during summer teaching sabbaticals. After retiring in the late 1980’s he and Genevieve moved to Austin to be near son's Allen and David and grandchildren Jeffrey, Meredith, and Melissa. 

He and Genevieve led an active retirement life, serving in numerous ways in their local church and a nearby nursing home as well as traveling several times a year to the Pennsylvania and Virginia to visit relatives. They made a number of Carribean cruises to various Islands and Mexico and several trips to Haiti, Colombia and Guatemala to visit missionary daughter Diana, David and her family.

Following the death of his wife Genevieve, Richard moved to Downingtown, PA to live with his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson for about a year before moving back to Austin for the remainder of his life living with Allen, Machelle and grandsons Joseph and Michael.