Rev. Charles Baker

PATTON, Mo. -- The Rev. Charles Elmer Baker, 91, of Hannibal, Mo., died Sunday, Jan. 18, 2004, in a Hannibal hospital.

He was born April 13, 1912, at Charleston, Mo., son of the Rev. Charles R. and Mary Ethel Bell Baker. He first married Frieda Cooper, who died in 1975. He later married Stella Schultz, who died in 1997.

Baker worked in CCC camps in Arkansas, at the Standard Oil Refinery in Wood River, Ill., and as a carpenter. He became a licensed Methodist minister in 1962. He served several churches in the Jefferson City and Hannibal areas. He retired in 1978 but continued to serve churches in the Belle, Mo., area until moving to Hannibal in 1997.

He served 15 years with Maries County Welfare Advisory Board, and was chairman of the Ministerial Alliance eight years at Belle.

Survivors include three sons, Charles Baker Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., James Baker of Tempe, Ariz., Paul Baker of Hannibal; two daughters, Cindy Garner of Pacific, Mo., Dixie Maki of Scottsdale, Ariz.; two stepsons, Gene Cooper of Auxvasse, Mo., and Jack Cooper of Hannibal.

Also surviving are four sisters, Ethel Baker and Mable Sample of Patton, Thelma Stone of Chaffee, Mo., Jane Barnes of Las Cruces, N.M.; 15 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a son, three brothers, and a sister.

The funeral was held Jan. 22 at Belle Methodist Church. The Revs. Robert Morrison and Becky Schmitt officiated. Burial was in Koenig Methodist Cemetery near Belle.

Sassman Funeral Home at Belle was in charge of arrangements.