Dudley R Baker

Dad, pops, pop-star to us kids. Husband, provider, and friend to mom. He was our gentle giant, the tickle monster, and the original kid flipper. He loved good chocolate candy, cake, or ice cream. His Coca-Cola better have ice in it, and broccoli, well, it is poisonous. He was the briber of children to do our chores and the sneaker of special treats, but don’t tell mom. He read us bedtime stories, on repeat if we asked just right. He believed in extraterrestrial life, loved Star Trek, and would tell us that by the time we were “his age” there would be a cure for aging, and we could live forever. He loved us all, and we loved him.

Dad was born to William Kenneth Baker and Helen Dudley Baker on July 2, 1945, in Bethesda, MD. He was an only child and well loved. He was “forced” to learn piano in childhood, a skill that served him well in the future. In high school, he developed an interest in amateur radio and enjoyed being able to connect with people all over the world. His mother Helen died in 1966, while dad was in college. He withdrew from school and enlisted in the Navy in August of 1967. He served as a communications technician in Hakata, Japan before being transferred back to the United States Naval Station TI in San Francisco, CA. He received an honorable discharge from the Navy after completing his active and reserve service in February 1972.

Soon after his release from the Navy, he met Elizabeth Dobron in April of 1972. The two wed on September 1, 1973. They lived in south Florida and had two of their four children there. Jennifer (1976) and Christopher (1977). In 1978, dad got a job opportunity in Huntsville, AL. He worked as an engineer for Universal Data Systems, later to become Motorola. In 1980, Laura joined the family, followed by Rachel in 1982.

In the early ‘90s, dad started occasionally playing piano at the Hilton in downtown Huntsville as a substitute for a friend. Eventually, dad picked up the gig as his own and played several days a week at Lofton’s piano bar. He met all sorts of people during his decades there. My favorite story was about a long-haired guy with a funny name who enjoyed hearing dad play and seemed to know a lot about music. Of course, dad didn’t know it was Jon Bon Jovi.

As we kids got older, we all learned to play different instruments of our own. We would have family “jam sessions” and mom would sometimes sing with us. Dad would play for family gatherings or just because we asked. Sometimes we would sing with him, sometimes we just listened.

Dad is survived by his wife and our mother Elizabeth Baker; his children Jennifer Farr (Barry), Christopher Baker (Gail), Laura Trenkle (Peter), & Rachel Baker; grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Stephen, Hannah, & Adam Trenkle, Timothy Farr, Blayne Hobbs (Rylie), Kaleigh and Jesse Taizan (Alexus, Rhyder, and Tanner), Khyler Langehennig (Keaton and Magnolia).

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