HENRY "HANK" BAKER, Obituary, 11 Jun 2001, Coke County, TX ***************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ Submitted by Mary Love Berryman - marylove@tyler.net 20 October 2001 ***************************************************************** The Observer/Enterprise, 15 Jun 2001, Robert Lee, TX Henry "Hank" Baker died June 6, 2001, in the Robert Lee Care Center. Grave - side services were held June 11 in the Robert Lee Hayrick Lodge Cemetery with the Reverend Wade Messer officiating. He was 92. Hank came to Silver, Texas, with Sun Oil Company in 1948 having joined the company several years earlier in Beaumont. He retired from Sun after 38 years, and moved into Robert Lee in 1966. His family members were frequent visitors in Silver and Robert Lee. He served for four years in the Air Force during the war. Upon retirement, Hank became one of the moving forces in establishing the Coke County Library. He raised money and traveled across West Texas picking up donated books from schools and other libraries. He belonged to the Robert Lee/Silver Lions Club and was Lion of the Year in 1971-72. He received an American Legion Citation for Meritoriou Service in 1978. Because Hank was of Cherokee heritage, another volunteer project was the Cherokee National Museum in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. In the early days of the Tahlequah project, Hank loaded his tools and those donated by his family, and headed to Oklahoma every summer to oversee preparation of the grounds of the museum, the outdoor re-enactments, and the Trail of Tears musical production. He saw that the plumbing worked, the lights were up and the grounds manicured. Each year for twelve years, Hank was recognized in the opening ceremonies of the Trails of Tears Production. Hank was a regular at the January fund raiser for West Texas Rehab. He manned the phone and brought fudge for the other volunteers. He was famous for his fudge, using the "secret" recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag. Cherokee stew, grilled hams, beans and cornbread, chicken fried steak, dove and quail were other culinary specialties deemed the "best in the West." Hank also raised money to buy turkey and ham for the food baskets which were delivered to the needy at Christmas. Hank was preceded in death by his mother, Rose Ann Kelly Baker, and father, Martin Luther Baker, and brothers, Gary, Cecil, Buster and Gene. He is survived by brother J. L. Baker and sister Mildred Sparks, and is also survived by his extended family of nephews and nieces and friends of all ages. Permission granted by Observer/Enterprise for publication in the Coke County TXGenWeb Archives