Fred R. Baker Jr, 68, Champaign, died May 13, 2005, in the Hospital European de Paris in Paris, France.

Graveside services will be 11:30 a.m. Monday at Knob Prairie Cemetery, Waltonville. The Rev. Merle Fullerton will officiate.

Visitation will be 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Owens Funeral Home, 101 N. Elm St., Champaign.

Mr. Baker was born Sept. 9, 1936, in Waltonville, a son of Fred and Erma Wells Baker Sr.

He married Jean Gamache on Dec. 7, 1957, in Chicago. She survives.

Other survivors include two daughters, Cheryl Baker of Indianapolis, Ind., and Beth Baker of Mahomet; one son, Mark Baker of Champaign; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and two brothers, David Baker of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Daniel Baker of Mt. Vernon.

He was preceded in death by one sister.

Mr. Baker was a member of the Champaign Urbana Federation of Musicians, the Medicare 7, 8 or 9, the Parkland Jazz Band and the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1956-58.

He was employed at Kraft Foods in Champaign for 35 years. After his retirement in 1996, he played locally and toured with the Guy Lombardo Band.

Mt. Vernon Register News
Date: May 20, 2005
Submitted by: Kiowana Hayes Ferguson