Helen Baker

Helen Baker passed away on August 16 in Houston, Texas.

She was born August 11, 1908 in Roselle Park, NJ and graduated from grade school and high school there. She attended Bucknell University, graduating in 1931 with a BA.

In her freshman year she met Harold Baker who was a sophomore; they were introduced by her big sister Evelyn Beckworth who was Harold’s classmate. After Helen graduated from Bucknell and Harold graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, they each moved to Washington, DC. Helen got a job in the Library of Congress, Harold got a job in the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) and they got married. Two years later Harold got a job in New York City and they moved there and started a family.

In 1949 they moved to Plainfield, NJ to raise their family. When Harold was ill for an extended period, Helen went to work as a teller in the Plainfield Trust Bank, where she worked for many years. She had a lifelong interest in music and art; both of her parents (Lewis and Miriam Merritt Hobbs) were graduates of what later became the Eastman School of Music.

In her 50's Helen took painting and needlepoint lessons. She also learned to drive and bought her first car, which she drove on many happy trips to New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. After they retired to Flemington, NJ, Helen taught needle point and was a member of the Flemington Baptist Church.

In 1982 after Harold died, Helen moved to Houston to be close to her son. Her apartment is decorated with many of her paintings and needlepoint. She enjoyed photography and for many years was the unofficial photographer for Westbrae Court where she lived.

Survivors include a son, Kenneth Baker, in Houston, Texas, a sister, Marion Mitchell, in Dover, Delaware, and nieces Lorraine Moniz in Sunnyvale, California and Connie Waldrop in Kansas City.

Graveside Services in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Flemington, NJ will be announced by the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ. Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information or to send condolences.