Ronald Elroy Baker

Born December 10th, 1932

Died November 28th, 2022

Dad and Mom planted seeds in their gardens to watch the flowers and veggies grow. They also planted seeds of goodwill in all their eleven children, which over time has bloomed and spread to their thirty grandchildren and nineteen great grandchildren. It is a large, happy, and still growing family.

Ron was immensely proud of his children, perhaps less about any prestige or accomplishments, but more about their impact on the world as good people. This was a running theme throughout his life, whether gardening, working, exploring religions, adopting a daughter, raising children and volunteering, he wanted to make the world a better place. He seemed to feel that making the world a better place was the best legacy you could have, and it’s one that he unquestionably achieved.

His immediate family includes: Jerry (wife Mary), Margaret (Peg) Dircksen (deceased) (husband Andy), Steve (wife Janet), Mike (wife Tamar), Jenny Richardson (deceased) (husband Dale), Chris (wife Heidi), Peter (wife Natalie), Kathy Conners (husband Arlee), Pat (wife Amy), Dan (wife Kristy), Tom (wife Laura).

Ron’s father Elroy was a local grocer, his mother, Katharine, was the daughter of a local hardware store owner. They were forced to downsize from a suburban home in Ft. Wayne, IN due to the Great Depression, living at and operating a local grocery store on State Street.

While in elementary school, Ron spent much of his free time learning electronics from his neighbor friend Fritz. Partly with skills he learned from Fritz, Ron won a local college scholarship, entering Purdue University and graduating in 1955.

Ron met the love of his life Dorothy at a St. Thomas Aquinas mixer her freshman year at Purdue in 1955. Their first date was at the Triple XXX in West Lafayette. After dating for 2 years, she decided it was important to focus on their family. They married June 15^th, 1957, and honeymooned in Washington DC.

Ron’s career at Purdue University started in the Audio Visual department, later being recruited to launch the first Electronics Shop within Physical Facilities with colleague Paul Rupee. After getting a master’s degree in Education from Purdue, he moved into administration as a classroom design engineer, retiring in 2000.

Beyond their family focus, both Ron and Dorothy sponsored foster children in other countries, ran a wooden toy business out of their home, and explored the new post-Vatican 2 openness about religion in the Catholic church, being interested in both traditional and non-traditional religious perspectives. They volunteered and contributed financially to many non-profit organizations and causes over the years. They were additionally involved in La Leche League as the first co-leading couple of the organization. Ron was very interested in alternative energy, sponsoring talks, and leading by example by installing solar panels at their house, while using their home as a testbed for new ideas.

Those are the outlines of Ron’s life, but they miss one vitally important aspect. He and Dorothy were always looking for a way to be kind and help improve the world. This is something that their children and grandchildren universally agree upon, and over time it has created a circular wave of kindness radiating from Ron and Dorothy’s lives.

This page is evolving; we will be adding more pictures and more memories. Here’s how you can help: Comment below with how Ron impacted your life, and we will add them to this page.