Joseph E. Baker

Joseph E. Baker was born March 1, 1936 in Denver, Colorado, and passed away September 2, 2011 in Kalispell, Montana. He is survived by his beloved wife, Carol of Bigfork, Montana and Casa Grande Arizona; and three sons: Michael (Susan) of Roswell, New Mexico; Shawn of Giltner, Nebraska; and Brian (Leslie) of Littleton, Colorado. He has four grandchildren, Kristen and Stephanie Baker of Roswell; and Rois and Callie Baker of Littleton. His two sisters, Shirley Baker and Kathleen Headrick of Centennial, Colorado also survive him.

Joe was the son of Herbert R. Baker and Catherine N. Baker and was raised in Denver, Billings, Montana, and Minneapolis, Minnesota where his Father’s work took the family. Bob Henry, company pilot for Clark Drilling Company in Billings (for which his sister, Shirley worked), taught him to fly small airplanes while he was still in high school. He attended Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota for three years and during that time Joe flew in college air shows and obtained his commercial pilot’s license.

In 1957 he enlisted in the Navy and flew airplanes for the Navy through 1961, including a year flying a submarine detector aircraft off of an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific. He met his wife, Carol, in Long Beach, California when he was in the Navy and elected to leave the Navy in 1961. Carol and Joe were married in Humboldt, Iowa February 19, 1962.

In 1962, Joe became a pilot for Frontier Airlines in Billings, Montana, and was later promoted to Captain where he flew for Frontier out of Denver until 1986 when he retired after 24 years of service.

At the time of his death, Carol and Joe were residing in their summer home in Bigfork, Montana, a few miles from Flathead Lake where he had a boat. He loved to go out fishing and simply enjoy the beauty of western, Montana. Not surprisingly this summer home was located right on the edge of a small flying strip in Bigfork, where pilots flew in and out every day, and where the forest service brought in aircraft to fight forest fires. In the winter, Carol and Joe returned to their home in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Joe loved his wife and family above all else. He was a free spirit who enjoyed the beauty of Colorado, Montana, the Canadian Rockies, Arizona, the Midwest, and Hawaii. During his 75+ years he left his family a legacy of the joys that exploring the world and nature can bring to one’s life.

Arrangements under the direction of Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary & Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, CO.