Dorothy Irene Baker

Dorothy Irene DeLaHunt Baker
Dorothy Irene Baker, 82, died peacefully on Thursday, January 21, 2010, with her family by her side. Dorothy was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Dorothy was born the 3rd of 7 children on July 2, 1927, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Rex DeLaHunt, Sr. and Ethel Flook DeLaHunt. She lost her mother when she was only 8 years old. Dorothy had been sick, and her mother had her crawl into bed with her, so as to comfort her. Her mother hadn't been well herself for a very long time, and she died that night from pernicious anemia, a disease that could be cured today with a simple Vitamin B12 shot, though they didn't know that then. Dorothy's life after that was anything but easy. Her dad didn't function well as a father after losing his wife and having 7 children to look after. The five youngest children, including Dorothy, were sent to a Catholic orphanage in Dubuque, Iowa, to live. Though the nuns there weren't always easy on her brothers, they were generally kind to Dorothy, who liked living in the orphanage, where the sisters taught her how to embroider, to cook, and other domestic skills. After several years in the orphanage, the children were brought back home to live with their father again. It was a difficult, poverty-stricken, sometimes brutal time for the children. The family was broken up again, as some of the children were sent back to the orphanage, and Dorothy went to live with her Aunt Iney and Uncle Jim. She lived with them as she attended and graduated from McKinley High School (Cedar Rapids) in 1945. While attending Mckinley High, she worked at Kresge's Five and Dime Store (forerunner of Kmart), manning the candy counter. She supported herself until she graduated. It was also during this period that a new Open Bible Church opened in the rooms above a store. Dorothy found the Lord there and never looked back. After graduating high school, she entered the Open Bible Institute in Des Moines, Iowa, graduating in 1948. While she attended this Bible college, she was "adopted" by Rev. Gerald Vriezelaar and his wife Irene, forming a life-long relationship. At the same time that she was finishing school in Des Moines, the Vriezelaar's moved to the Open Bible Church in Waterloo, Iowa. Dorothy had originally planned to enter nurse's training in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but changed her plans in order to be near her Pastor "family". She instead entered Allen Memorial Hospital Nurses School in Waterloo on a scholarship that had been set up by Edgar Bergen (Candice's father) whose puppets were Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. The fund was free upon the condition that she work as a nurse after graduating, which she did. The amount of the scholarship that saw her through three years of nurse's training was something like $350.00! While in training to be an R.N., Dorothy was required to do a three month stint at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. While there, she learned to play pinochle with the psych patients. She used to delight in telling how good she got playing against, and beating, the very competitive patients. All her life she loved playing games, especially cards. In 1951 Dorothy graduated from Allen Memorial Hospital Nursing School in Waterloo, Iowa, as a Registered Nurse. While in nursing school she met her soul mate, James L. Baker, at the Open Bible Church, where he had recently started attending. Their first date was at a church function - a hay ride. After Dorothy graduated on September 7, 1951, marriage restrictions on the student nurses were lifted, so she and Jim married at the Little Brown Church in the Vale in Nashua, Iowa, on September 8, 1951. This church was built in the 1800's and was famous for weddings and the song of the same name. The Rev. Hanscome had the newly married pair pull the bell rope together, and admonished them to always pull together and never let go. From their union, Dorothy and Jim were blessed with four children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. They lived in several different cities in Iowa during the first 15+ years of their marriage. They started out in Waterloo, and, because of a promotion by Jim, moved to Sioux City in 1960, where Dorothy worked only part-time as a nurse until quitting to become a full-time mom. A two-year period of living in her hometown of Cedar Rapids, ended with a transfer of Jim and the family to Evansville, Indiana. They lived there only about six months until Dorothy and Jim decided to follow their desire to be independent and work for themselves, moving to Ogden, Utah, in 1968 to start the family business, General Pest Control Services. It was back to work as a nurse for Dorothy, as she supported the family while the business was in its infancy. After she retired from nursing permanently in 1973 from St. Benedict's Hospital, Dorothy followed her heart and love of animals and served on the board of directors of the Humane Society where her efforts saved the lives of innumerable animals. Dorothy and Jim enjoyed traveling throughout the USA, but especially loved camping with family and friends in the Uintahs and the sand dunes where she could be fearless on a 4-wheeler, her Odyssey, or in a dune buggy. Dorothy loved the Lord always and was a rock in her church. She was the glue that held her family together through faith, prayer, and love. Dorothy is survived by her devoted husband, Jim, who cared for her until the end. She is also survived by her children: Linda (Lloyd) Haynes - Roy, UT; Dan (Darcy) Baker - Riverdale, UT; Pat Baker - Clinton, UT; Mike (Cheryl) Baker - Clearfield, UT; and by her grandchildren: Christopher, Amber, and Mikey. She is also survived by the joy of her last years, her great-granddaughter, Grace Dorothea (Gracie), and her beloved companion, her dog, Billy. Also surviving are her younger sister, Jerry Potts (Decatur, TN), and her younger brothers, Jack DeLaHunt (Oelwein, IA), and Ted DeLaHunt (Pinebluff, AR). She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers, Rex, Jr., Bill, and Jim DeLaHunt. A memorial service will be held for Dorothy at God's Place Church, 3717 Grant Ave., Ogden, UT, on Saturday, February 6, 2010, at 2:30 P.M. Special thanks to Sara's "Angels" at Chancellor Gardens Assisted Living: Mikail, Ashley, Shanna, Jessica E., Chelse, Jennesta, Camille, Monica, Whitney, Janice, Alexis, Lindsay, Jessica R., Ilene, Jan H., along with Mary and Cindy. Our gratitude to the Comfort Hospice Care staff for their caring and love: Debbie Michaelson, R.N., Annette Hollingsworth, R.N., Dr. Nelson, Astle, Nate McClure, and Laura, Carilyn and Crystal. I

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Dorothy's name to:
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary 5001 Angel Canyon Road Kanab, UT 84741-5000 www.bestfriends.org/donate
Or you can make a donation in Dorothy's name to:
Allen Memorial Foundation Or Alumni Fund 1825 Logan Ave. Waterloo, IA 50703 www.allenhospital.org