Alice Baker

ALICE BAKER Click here to view Alice's Video Tribute IDAHO FALLS, ID -- Surrounded by her family, Alice Claire Baker passed away at home in Idaho Falls on Wednesday, August 26, 2009, at the age of 73 years and eight months, after a valiant battle with cancer. She was under the care of Creekside Hospice. Alice was born December 16, 1935, in Burke, South Dakota, to Leon and Louise Dunn Klundt of Herrick, South Dakota. She spent her childhood years on the family farm southwest of Herrick, and attended rural schools to the 8th grade. In 1953 she graduated from high school in Burke, South Dakota. After high school she worked as a Nurse’s Aide at the Catholic Hospital in Gregory, South Dakota. While working there she met her future husband, Brad Baker, and they were married on her birthday, December 16, 1956, in the Methodist Church in Gregory. Alice earned her PHT (putting husband through) working as a waitress and a Nurse’s Aide while Brad attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln to attain a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. One daughter, Lynn Louise, was born in 1959 during their college years. After her husband graduated in 1962, they moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho, where he was employed at the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS). Two more children were born, Jean Elizabeth in 1962, and Richard Owen in 1965. Alice was involved with raising the family, planting and tending to her beloved flowers, and coaching T-Ball baseball. She loved working with the little boys in their first involvement with baseball. Her team consisted of over 40 boys, and even though some of them were physically and mentally challenged, Alice and another coach managed to let each one play in every game. It was fun. She also excelled at Toastmasters and bowling. In 1972 the family moved to Ketchum, Idaho, where her husband was involved in a new company startup. She continued raising the family while also working as a checkout cashier and night manager of the Golden Rule Grocery Store. She also helped coach a girls’ softball team while in Ketchum. Her children enjoyed learning to ski at the world class ski resort in Sun Valley. In 1979 the family moved to Boulder, Colorado, where she worked as a shipping and receiving clerk for City Electric Contracting in Boulder and later for Dunn & Bradstreet as a tear-sheet clerk. In 1989 the family returned to Idaho Falls. Alice enjoyed watching football and baseball games and watching and feeding birds, especially the hummingbirds that visited her yard. She enjoyed putting jigsaw puzzles together and reading mystery novels. She especially loved tending her yard and her flowers, and she collected hundreds of dolls and miniature cars. Alice deeply loved her husband, children, and grandchildren, and was so very proud of their accomplishments. She insisted on being present at the births of all of her grandchildren. Some of her cherished memories were of the many family and friends camping trips in the mountains of Idaho and Colorado. Other memorable trips were to find the “perfect” Christmas tree, hauling fireplace wood, rafting trips down the Salmon River, houseboat trips and fishing trips on Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and hunting and fishing with her family and special friends. Alice will be greatly missed by her family, but they are joyful that she has been released from her illness and was able to spend her last days in the comfort of her own home with her family. The family wishes to extend special thanks to the staffs of EIRMC Hospital, Snake River Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and especially the Creekside Hospice, Idaho Falls. Their compassion and gentle care for all of us is greatly appreciated. She was preceded in death by her parents, Leon and Louise Klundt, grandparents, Jerry and L. Winifred Dunn and Wilhelm and Elizabeth Klundt. Surviving her are Brad, her husband of 52+ years; children, Lynn Louise (Kirk) Ellefson, Jean Elizabeth (Brian) Maiorella, and Richard Owen Baker; six grandchildren, Lacie, Kira, and Cort Ellefson, and Alexander, Anthony and Arthur Maiorella; one great granddaughter, due in September, 2009, three brothers, Lyle (Ruth) Klundt, Delmar (Janie) Klundt, and David (Sharon) Klundt; one sister, Mavis (Jim) Potter, and numerous nieces and nephews. Memorial Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, August 28, 2009, at Wood Funeral Home, 273 North Ridge, with Pastor Dan Thompson of St. Paul’s Methodist Church officiating. There will be a viewing for one hour prior to the services on Friday at Wood Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be held in Gregory, South Dakota, under the direction of Kotrba Funeral Home, with burial in the Spotted Tail Cemetery in Jamison, Nebraska. ---------------------------------------------------- Condolences received online: