Baker, Donald F. 1926 - 2005

BAKER, WHITE, CAUDLE, SPILMAN

Posted By: Pat Ludeke (email)
Date: 5/24/2013 at 00:21:03

Donald F. Baker, 78, died at Muse-Norris Hospice of North Iowa, Mason City,
Iowa, on July 18, 2005. A memorial service will be held at Ward-Van Slyke
Colonial Chapel, 101 North 4th Street, Clear Lake, Friday, July 22, at 2 p.m.,
with Jared Baker officiating. Visitation with family will be held Thursday
from 4 ­ 7 p.m. at Ward-Van Slyke. Inurnment will be at the Clear Lake Cemetery
with Military Honors conducted by the Clear Lake Veterans of Foreign Wars Post
#4868. Memorial donations may be directed to the Donald Baker Memorial Fund.
Donald F. Baker was born Nov. 29, 1926 in Corydon, Iowa, the son of Halleck and
Hazel (White) Baker. He graduated from North High School in Des Moines. After
high school he was drafted into the US Army of the Occupation, and served in
Frankfort and Berlin Germany in the Man Power Division, under General Lucius
Clay in WWII, 1946.
After being honorably discharged, he married Marian Caudle in November of 1947.
After the war he owned Don's Place in Jewel, Iowa until 1963. He served on the
Jewel City Council for three terms, he was the Post Commander and Post Adjutant
of the American Legion in Jewel. He was a member of the American Legion for 58
years, a member of the Masonic Lodge, and a member of the V.F.W. in Clear Lake.
After selling Don's Place he moved to Clear Lake and sold insurance and real
estate. He married Gladys "Myke" Spilman on June 28, 1974. Don and Myke moved
to Sun City, Az. in 1983 and moved back to Clear Lake in 1988.
Don liked to sing and dance. He was a fan of the Chicago Cubs and the Iowa
Hawkeyes and he was an avid golfer, scoring six hole-in-ones in his golfing
career.
Don is survived by his wife, Gladys "Myke" (Spilman) Baker, Clear Lake; three
sons, Dennis (Kathy) Baker, Denver, Colo., Mark Baker, Denver, and Tim (Deidre)
Baker, Henderson, Nev.; step-daughters, Sheryl (Tim) Johnson, Fargo, N.D. and
Carol Spilman, Los Angeles, Calif.; two brothers, Keith Baker, Branson, Mo.,
and John Baker, Chicago, Ill; 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Don was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Richard Baker, Dwight
Baker, Charles Baker; his sisters, Doris Richard, Ruth Baker, and Sally Crim.