Stella Mary Baker

Baker, Stella M., died of cancer in her home in Clearwater, Fla., on Mother’s Day, May 13, 2012. She was 88 years old. Stella and her husband, Dr. Allen Baker, had nearly 64 years of marriage. They wed in Pinckneyville, IL in 1948 and spent more than 40 years there before moving to Florida. After moving to Clearwater, Stella and Allen joined the Belleair Country Club where they made many close friends. Stella worked in Dr. Baker’s optometric office after rearing their two children, Allen Jr. and Debbie. Stella was a Girl Scout leader and then worked on the Miss Perry County Fair beauty pageant for many years. Stella was born on Oct. 20, 1923, in Broadview, Mont., and grew up on the farm her father homesteaded there. She graduated from what was then Eastern Montana State Normal School in Billings. After college, she worked as a telephone operator and supervisor, first in Billings and then at Fort Lewis, Wash., where she met her husband. Surviving are her husband, her son Allen Jr. and wife Suzanne of Ashland, Ore., her daughter Debbie Arett and husband Kyle of McDonough, GA, grandchildren, Aaron and Dana Baker and great-grandchildren, Brenda, Celeste and Aaron Baker, Jr. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or to Suncoast Hospice, 5770 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760. Visitation will be from 11 am until service time at 1 pm Wednesday, May 16, 2012, at Moss-Feaster Funeral Home, 13401 Indian Rocks Road, Largo, FL 33774.