Palm Bay, Florida ~ William Lowell Baker (known to friends and family as "Bill") passed away peacefully Saturday, April 2, 2016 at Holmes Regional Medical Center. He lived a full and blessed 89 years and is remembered today by his many family and friends for the examples he set, the sacrifices he made, and his great sense of humor. He was strong-willed and independent minded, but always treated others with kindness, respect and a clever wit. Bill lived a full life without regrets.
Born February 6, 1927 in Fountain, Minnesota to parents Clyde and Melvina Baker, Bill learned the importance of hard work and putting family first, values he learned from them. Survived by his sons, Mark (Maria) Baker, Bruce (Bonnie) Baker, grandsons, Brian, Lowell, and Beau Baker, and three great- grandchildren. Predeceased by his wife, Katherine Marie Baker.
After graduating from Preston High School in 1943, he earned a football scholarship at the University of Minnesota as a fullback with strong, fast running skills. Bill lived his life the same way he played football: head-first, headstrong, and without complaints. Bill later served his country in World War II by enlisting in the United States Navy and served overseas.
He married Katherine Jahns in 1948 and together they raised a family in Minnesota and then in Florida. One Christmas, Bill gave his sons what every child hopes for, a lawnmower. They never let him forget it. And he never stopped laughing about it. But the joke wasn't the real point. He was helping his family learn to work, take responsibility, and earn for themselves. Bill was showing them, as he always did, what it meant to be a Baker.
Bill loved the Blue Ridge Mountains, spending time there most summers with friends and family. In his later years, he gathered annually with his sons to drive up to North Carolina or down to the Florida Keys. The destinations were beautiful; the time spent together was more beautiful still, as they shared the time-tested jokes and stories that will forever bind the Bakers together.
Bill enjoyed a successful career in real estate in south Florida before retiring to Palm Bay.
A private service will be held at the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery at a future date. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Veterans Space Coast Honor Flight.

Arrangements entrusted to Davis Seawinds Funeral Home in Melbourne, Florida.