John Baker

John C. Baker

August 22, 1930 - July 8, 2023

John C. Baker (known to family as "Jack" and his Pinehurst friends as "JC") passed away peacefully and returned to our Heavenly Father on July 8, 2023, at his Waverly Gardens residence in North Oaks, Minnesota, after 92 years, including 67 years with his wife, Allie.

John is preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Ethel, and his siblings Beverly, Harold, and Lee. He is survived by his wife, Allie; children John (Julie), Keith (Martha), and Gary (Pam); grandchildren Brian (Rita), Ryan (Taylor), Cody, Collin, Kate, and Jack; great-grandchildren Clara, Norby, Jameson, and Remington; several nieces and nephews; and many other relatives and friends.

Born on August 22, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, John was the third of four children of Harold and Ethel Baker. He graduated from Calumet High School in 1948 and attended Augustana College for 2 years before enlisting in the US Army Reserve during the Korean War. He served on active-duty status from 1951 through 1953. John was a Corporal in the Army and was stationed in Germany where he trained and served as a medical non-commissioned officer. He was honorably discharged in 1959.

In the 1950's, John began a successful life-long career in wholesale chemical sales in the Chicago area, including more than 35 years with TAB Chemicals in sales and as a sales manager. He married the love of his life, Allie, in 1956. John and Allie raised their three sons in the Chicago area, and were long-term residents of Western Springs, Illinois, until retiring to Pinehurst, North Carolina in 1994. They just recently celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary.

While the family and John's parents took many annual fishing trips to northern Wisconsin, John loved to golf and Allie took up the game, too, in the 1970's. When John retired, he and Allie moved to Pinehurst, North Carolina, where they lived on the Magnolia course at Pinewild CC. Besides finding new golfing buddies and other long-term friends in Pinehurst, they also enjoyed hosting family and friends there for 16 years before moving to nearby Southern Pines. John and Allie traveled to visit family and friends, play golf, and even returned to Germany in 2008 for an extensive tour of the country. John and Allie served at their churches and also delivered Meals on Wheels for many years.

A visitation will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 22, 2023, at Mueller Memorial, 4738 Bald Eagle, White Bear Lake, followed immediately by a Celebration of Life service at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made online to First Tee at https://firsttee.org/donate, Brownson Church at https://www.brownsonchurch.org/give (330 S. May Street, Southern Pines, NC 28387) or any other charity of your choice.