What an interesting day!
Mom and I drove up to Baldwin for Ken Baker’s memorial. He died in Sarasota, Florida in
December. We got to Peggy’s store
there, but they had closed it for the memorial so we weren’t able to shop. The memorial was at the VFW just north
of Baldwin on M-37. George and Marianne were the first ones I saw
there. Then, I talked with Nicole
Gauthier Flores, who is Peggy’s granddaughter.
I hadn’t seen her in years. Her
daughter is 8 ½ and son is 6 ½. They
were at the babysitters so I didn’t get to meet them. I met Ken’s 2 sons, Ken Jr. and Brian. Ken Jr. lives in the northwest corner of
South Carolina. Ken Jr’s mother was
Ken’s first wife, Mamie. Brian’s
mother was Carol. Brian lives in St.
Petersburg, Florida, with his grandmother.
Carol works at Goodwill and is 71 years old. Brian works at an auto parts store. I didn’t realize Ken had 3
half-sisters. Saw Al and Johnny
Morrison. Al and Johnny are brothers.
Al lives in Rooster, Michigan and Johnny lives at Grandma’s farm in Brunswick. Dave Katt came up to me and said he’s my
facebook friend. He’s Peggy’s son, who
lives in Petoskey. He will be taking a
new job in Charlevoix soon. I got to see
Peggy’s daughter, Cheryl, too. It was
very nice seeing everyone.
The memorial was very nice. They did the 21 gun salute. A pastor, who lives a few doors down from
Ken’s home on Gifford Lake, gave the sermon. I didn’t realize Ken was so
spiritual. I only saw Ken on
occasional trips up to Baldwin on Memorial Day weekend. My last remembrance of Ken was he and
Peggy taking us out to this Tiki restaurant near Venice, Florida. I wish I had spent more time with him.
The following is Ken’s obituary: “Kenneth Baker, 80, of Baldwin, passed away
in Sarasota, FL on Sunday, December 14, 2014.
Ken was born August 26, 1934 in Fremont to his father, Kenneth E. Baker
and his mother, Pauline Morrison, both deceased. Ken worked at several jobs in his younger
days, but his claim to fame had always been being a pilot, co-pilot and flight
engineer for Pan American Airlines. He
loved Pan Am, flying and the traveling it provided him. He had been around the world several times
and lived in wonderful places throughout his career with Pan Am, including,
Hong Kong, Australia, Guatemala, Hawaii, and California, to name just a few. He
was proud that a little boy who had grown up on a farm in a small Michigan town
could rise to this achievement and make his dreams come true. Ken also spent four years in the U.S. Air
Force which he was very proud of. He
tried to encourage other young men to sign up for the military and described
the pride they would feel after serving their country. Ken was loved by so many. He spent a lot of time helping others. He never received much recognition for his
kind deeds as he did them anonymously much of the time. He is missed by everyone who knew him. Ken is survived by two loving sons, Kenneth
Bolt Baker and Brian Baker; Peggy Katt, his loving companion who walked by his
side for nearly 37 years; three sisters, Susan (Jim) James, Amy McCarty Baker,
and Zaida Bradley. He also leaves
behind numerous grand and great grandchildren whom he loved and enjoyed very
much.”
Peggy’s granddaughter, Nicole, gave a memory about him,
along with his grandson, Ken Baker.
Another grandson’s memory was about Ken teaching him how to pick up
girls, which he was so good at.
After the memorial, Mom and I drove up to Manistee for my
former college roommate, Rose’s wedding.
We got there right when they were starting to eat. Rose looked very pretty in her dress and her
hair was very cute. The theme was
Mickey Mouse and roses, which was on her cake and on some of the balloons. They plan to take a honeymoon to Disney in 1
½ years. She got a new job at Munson
hospital in Traverse City. They plan to move up there by Christmas. She looked very happy. Her husband told about how they met. Back when she was 21, he asked her out, but
she said “No”. Ten years later, he
asked her out again, and again, she said “No”. Then, 2 years ago, he came into the
hospital in Manistee where she worked as a registration clerk, and she saw on
his paperwork for a colonoscopy, that he was single, so gave him her phone
number. After the procedure, he
looked in his pants pocket and saw the number and remembered she had given it
to him. He called her up for a date and they went down to the boardwalk, and
the rest is history.
It was a very busy day, but was very nice. I am glad I was able to attend both of
these events.
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