Richard Shoemaker Baker

He was born on November 10, 1944, in Columbus, OH, to Mary Evelyn (Shoemaker) and Richard H. Baker. His parents built a home in Rush Creek Village in Worthington when he was a teenager, an experience that sparked a lifelong admiration of Usonian architecture.

Dick attended The Ohio State University School in Columbus, later graduating from Worthington High School in 1962. He studied marketing at The Ohio State University, where he was active in the Chi Phi Fraternity. After graduation, he worked for Lazarus department stores, ran his own consultancy, and held other roles before transitioning into data processing at Huntington Bank. He later earned his MBA from Xavier University. He retired from PNC National Bank in 2006.

Outside of his career, Dick was an enthusiastic outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting deer and pheasant in Ohio with his hunting dog, Pikake. He also spent many summers portaging and camping in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, with his fraternity brothers and lifelong friends who best knew him as “Turk,” short for Turkey Buzzard, a fraternity nickname that stuck.

He married Janis Louise Armstrong in 1981, and together they shared two children and 22 years of marriage, until her death in 2003. Dick considered embarrassing his daughters to be his number 1 job as a father, a role he pursued mainly through bad puns and spoonerisms.

Though he was an introverted teen, as an adult Dick sought the company of like-minded individuals. He served as a Past Master of Bexley Masonic Lodge and was a member of the Aladdin Temple (Shriners). He was also a longtime member of Worthington Presbyterian Church, where he served as an elder, on the facilities committee, and ran the sound board for services for many years.

Dick is survived by his daughters, Liz (Sean) McVey of Venice, FL and Kate (Rob) Thomas of Saint Paul, MN; grandchildren Ciaran, Brady, Morgen, and Evie; his brother, David (Carol) Baker of Columbus, OH; and many beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Janis, and his parents, Richard and Evelyn.

The family will receive friends from 4-7 pm Friday, September 25th at Schoedinger Worthington, 6699 N High St, Worthington, OH 43085, with a Masonic Service at 6:30pm. A memorial service will be held at 11 am on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at Worthington Presbyterian Church, 773 High Street, Worthington, OH 43085. A private interment will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Dick requested donations be made in his memory. The family suggests Algonquin Provincial Park at https://www.ontarioparks.ca/donate or to The Ohio State University at https://www.osu.edu/giving/.