Kenneth M. Baker

Kenneth M. Baker, 87, New London, died Dec. 25, 2013, at the VA Medical Center in Iowa City.

Visitation will be Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. prior to the service at the Hagele and Honts Funeral Home in Morning Sun, where the family will greet friends. The funeral service will be Saturday, Dec. 28, at 11 a.m. at the funeral home, with the Rev. Sue-Ellen Sherman officiating. Burial will follow at the Elmwood Cemetery in Morning Sun. In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established for the VA Hospital in Iowa City and Great River Hospice.

The son of William and Viola (Jackson) Baker, he was born April 9, 1926, at rural Mt. Pleasant. He attended New London and Morning Sun schools. He served in the United States Navy during World War II from 1942 to 1946 on the USS Elk in the Pacific. He worked for Wilson Trucking, Millard Cole Trucking and at the Zepher Hotel all of Burlington. He later owned and operated a hotel in Missouri, before moving to the Arkansas Mountains near Jasper, Arkansas where he lived for many years.

Survivors include his companion, Nancy Huffman of New London; two daughters, Kathy (Doug) Fischer of Burlington; Debra Baker of Tucson, Ariz.; two sons, Clarence (Judy) Baker of Burlington; Darrius (Colleen) Baker of Phoenix, Ariz.; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; and one sister, Shirley Linder of Stronghust, Ill.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Bill Baker; and two sisters, Veda Smith and Grace Broecker.