Ronald Baker
Ronald Harlan Baker passed away from complications due to Myasthenia Gravis on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022.
Services will be Saturday, Dec. 17, at 1 p.m. at First United Methodist Church.
Born in Williamson County on Nov. 13, 1939, Ron was a force of nature – a retired teacher who wore many hats both in his teaching career and in other fields.
With a keen mechanical brain, there was not much that he couldn’t fix. His bent toward perfectionism also made him a skilled carpenter… albeit a slow one. At the time of his death, he had at least 50 pending projects and left his family with direct orders as to how to finish them.
Ron got his Associates degree from Tarleton College in 1960, his Bachelors from North Texas State University in 1963. In 1969 he was selected for a nationwide cohort from the National Science Foundation to complete a Masters at Texas A&M. He was a licensed pilot as well as air conditioning and refrigeration and RV technician. If it was mechanical, he wanted to conquer it.
While Ron was at Tarleton, he met and married Mary Beth Cornell. They shared over 64 years of teaching, camping, dancing, photography and raising a family. He loved the outdoors, having been raised hunting, fishing and camping. He instilled those interests in his daughters, recently renovating a 1969 vintage camper for his daughter to continue the camping tradition. Hunting was one of his first passions and he hunted deer, elk and any bird he could take aim at. He was extremely competitive and would usually bring home the prize. He later guided elk hunts and served as “cookie” on hunting expeditions in New Mexico.
He would fix anything for anybody and was always quick to lend a helping hand. If you mentioned you had a mechanical issue, it wasn’t long for him to just “take a look.” His mind was working on problems until his last day.
Ron and Mary raised three girls and he loved being “Pop” to all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Harvey and Lois Baker; brothers Harvey Norman and Roger Baker; and sister and brother-in law, Joy and James Mooney.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Beth (Cornell); daughters Kimberly Lynn Baker Schnider (Vern), Diana Baker Freeman, and Ronda Baker; grandchildren Lynna Bartosh, Blake Bartosh (Courtney), Dustin Freeman (Britney), Samantha Shorey (Josh), Ashley Schnider and Lucas Schnider (Cheyenne); great-grandchildren Walter and Winnie Burks, Dawson and Delilah Freeman, Kaylie and Kenzlee Bartosh and Jet, Linkin and Rowan Schnider; sister Gayle Baker; nephews James Dudley Mooney, Jr. (Kelli Stumbo), Clint Whitehead, Roger, Rex, Robert and Franklin Baker; nieces Teresa Baker, Crystal Overby, Tara Baker Guerrero Georgeson and Marissa Baker Guerrero; and numerous great nieces and nephews.
He was one of the surviving patriarchs of the Baker clan, leaving behind many beloved cousins. He was proud of his Baker roots in Central Texas.
Memorials can be made in Ronald’s memory to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation: donate.myasthenia.org
RILEY FUNERAL HOME
