Arthur Baker

Arthur William Baker, Jr., 78, of Henderson, Nevada, passed away December 28, 2017, at St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Henderson, Nevada. Arthur was born in Mexico, Missouri, to Arthur William and Dora Mae Baker. Arthur Jr. met his great love and partner for life at the age of 26 and married Charnette Grant of Oakland, California, in Carmel, California. He joined his brothers Thomas and Howard Baker when he and his wife moved to Nevada in 2004.

Arthur received an associate degree from Merritt College and then joined the United States Air Force, where he completed basic training in Biloxi, Mississippi. He honorably served on active duty from June 24, 1959, to March 23, 1964. His training in the Air Force positioned him to enter the burgeoning information technology industry. He joined the groundbreaking company IBM as a computer systems analyst in the 60s. In the 70s and 80s Arthur continued analyzing, implementing, and designing information systems as a senior analyst and systems engineer for companies in the Silicon Valley, including Memorex and Intel Corporation in Santa Clara. He became an educator in the 2000s and taught computer courses at Laney College and the College of Alameda. After retirement, he continued to work as a security professional for Rome Security Services of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Arthur was a consummate athlete, lettering in swimming, football, and track in high school in Des Moines, Iowa. He also worked as a lifeguard, where he taught young people how to swim and encouraged them to try swimming as a competitive sport. While Arthur was the smallest of the Big Three—Arthur, Thomas, and Howard Baker—as the oldest, he was the protector of his younger brothers and would fight whomever he had to make sure they were safe from bullies.

From going to high school in Iowa to later becoming an IT professional in the 60s, Arthur was often the only black man in all-white environments. He paved the way in his athletic and professional endeavors, becoming a role model of black male success. Because of his intellectualism, fierce yet easy-going manner, and well-developed sense of humor, he was adroit at transforming anti-black spaces into multicultural environments where everyone could not only get along but could also thrive.

He is survived by his mother, Dora Mae; his brothers, Thomas and Howard; his wife, Charnette; his daughter and son, Raquel and Arthur; his aunts, and a much-loved slew of cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Arthur, a man who truly blessed everyone he met with his intellect and empathy, left everyone who crossed his path with this refrain, “Have a blessed day!”

Memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm, January 8, 2018, at Palm Eastern Mortuary.