Roy Ball Baker III

Roy Ball Baker III was born on April 20, 1942 in Newton, Massachusetts. The oldest of 3 children, Roy attended Blair Academy prior to Boston University, graduating in 1964 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics & Labor Relations. That same year, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

His first assignment landed him at USAF Contract Management District on Orlando Air Force Base in Florida, where he worked as a Production Officer on contracts to convert civilian aircraft for use in Vietnam and to develop the Pershing Missile in support of Army combat operations.

Over the course of his distinguished 20-year military career as a Procurement and Contracting Officer, Roy was also stationed in Great Falls, Montana; Goose Bay Labrador, Canada; Bellevue, Nebraska; and Spokane, Washington. While in Spokane, he attended Gonzaga University, earning his Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management in 1976.

His final assignment saw him at Hickam AFB in Hawaii as the Director of the Pacific Air Force Contracting Center, a role in which he served until retiring from the Air Force in 1984 after having risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Roy remained in Hawaii for another five years, working for the county of Honolulu as its Assistant Purchasing Administrator, before moving to California in 1991. There, he took up a position as Purchasing Manager for the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, where he continued until retiring from the workforce in 2009.

Roy also took great pride and satisfaction in serving as Foreman of the Orange County Superior Court Grand Jury from 2011 to 2012. He continued to remain active as President of the Board of Directors for the Grand Jurors Association of Orange County.

His hobbies were golf, his dogs, participation in Emeritus classes and speaking engagements, and travel. Roy was also an avid Firefighter enthusiast – riding the fire trucks in Boston during his college years, collecting memorabilia from the early 1900’s including items from his father, and co-founding the Hawaii Fire Buffs Association in Oahu.

Roy is survived by his loving wife, Kari; children, Mark Baker and Michele (Scott) Caulfield; two stepsons, Michael (Jessica) and grandson Nolan Buist, and Ryan Buist. He is also survived by his brother, Stephen Baker (Adrienne Novak), and sister, Leslie Baker (Dr. Petro Karanasias).