Patrick Baker

Patrick Edward “Charles” Baker, 80, of Concord, NC, died May 26, 2010, at Carolinas Medical Center NorthEast. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends. Patrick Baker was born on February 18, 1930, in Concord, NC, to the late Haskell C. Baker and the late Eva May Misenheimer Baker as the fourth oldest of five children. In his youth, he enjoyed playing sports and picking blackberries to sell door-to-door for pocket money. While a high school student, he worked at Sides Lumber Company. Patrick met his wife of over 58 years Faye at McLellan’s in downtown Concord, NC where she worked with his sister, Vivian. He graduated from Odell High School in 1948 and joined the Air Force where he served from 1948 – 1952. After leaving the service, he attended North Carolina State University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1956. Following graduation, he began a career in the aerospace industry with Douglas Aircraft in Charlotte, NC. During his time in Charlotte, he and his wife Faye made many lifelong friendships. In 1966, the family moved to California with McDonnell Douglas for two years and later relocated to Titusville, FL. During his years in the aerospace industry, Patrick worked on the hydraulics design for guidance control systems of several government defense projects including Nike Hercules, Harpoon, and Dragon. At the end of his aerospace career, he worked at the Kennedy Space Center as an engineer on the Skylab project during the early 1970’s. In the late 1970's, he and his family moved from Florida back to North Carolina where he was employed with BellSouth until he retired in 1991. It was his and his wife’s desire to move back to their home state where they could eventually retire. Mr. Baker also pursued various hobbies and interests. He was quite adept at playing bridge and billiards, and he even won some tournaments. However, his favorite activity by far was playing golf. He played a wide variety of courses such as Pinehurst, Tanglewood, and Pebble Beach. Over the years, he achieved many golfing successes including several even par rounds and two holes-in-one. Golf was a hobby that he enjoyed passing on to others, including his son. In addition to sports, he loved cultivating a vegetable garden each year with Faye and canning the harvest. He loved to do carpentry and electrical work and especially loved working on cars. He was proud that his ’71 Camaro had logged over 325,000 miles on it. Known to his buddies as “Charles”, he met with his friends at night to discuss the issues of the day over coffee. This was another activity that allowed him to form many long term friendships as well as renew old ones. Patrick Baker is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Gregory R. Baker and Karen R. Baker, of Tampa, Florida; daughter, Karen I. Baker, of Knoxville, Tennessee; and granddaughters, Jennifer R. Baker and Amanda R. Baker, of Tampa, Florida; and his many close friends. In addition to his parents, Patrick is preceded in death by his brothers, James L. Baker, Keith A. Baker, Billy E. Baker; and his sister, Vivian A. McDaniel. Visitation will be Saturday, May 29, 2010, from 6 PM – 8 PM at Hartsell Funeral Home in Concord. The memorial service will be at 1 PM on Monday, May 31, 2010, at Hartsell Funeral Home Chapel, officiated by Rev. Gregory Freeman, followed by interment at Carolina Memorial Park in Kannapolis, NC. The family meeting place will be at the home of a sister-in-law Nancy Cooper at 4008 Glen Haven Drive Concord. Memorials may be made to The American Cancer Society 6000 Fairview Drive Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28210 or The American Lung Association 3801 Lake Boone Trail Suite 190 Raleigh, NC 27607.