Judith F. Baker
We share with great sadness that Judith F. Baker of Falmouth, Maine passed peacefully on August 18, 2023, surrounded in love after a brief and brave fight against lung cancer.
Judy quietly touched and supported people wherever she landed in the world. At Skidmore College, she trained as a nurse and met her adventurous husband Bruce Baker from Williams College. They were married in 1957 and celebrated at the Toll House Inn, home of the original chocolate chip cookie which Judy baked ‘on the crispy side’ for decades. Bruce launched his banking career and their lives overseas in 1961 when they flew Pan Am first class to Singapore with infant
Geoffrey in tow. In 1963 they had moved to Malaysia and Pamela arrived. Judy was a volunteer for Planned Parenthood and quickly learned the ways of expat community life. The family lived in Japan, Hong Kong, Montreal, Canada and Pasadena, California weaving a global web of deep and lasting friendships. Led by intrepid Bruce, they traveled the world over and instilled the love of foreign places and adventure in their children.
Born in Brockton, MA she was the mischievous leader for her three younger siblings growing up in a home at the end of a cul-de-sac with chickens, homing pigeons, dachshunds, and beagles. Judy had a special relationship with her Nana Fletcher who ensured she had piano lessons and a strand of pearls! They summered in a cottage at Priscilla Beach, MA.
When nobody else offered, Judy took the reigns to be ‘Brown Owl’ for Pamela’s Brownie troop. Knowing nothing about soccer, she was a consistent figure on the sidelines to cheer Geof. She was a founding member of the Huntington Hospital Pet Therapy Program in Pasadena, CA which combined her love of dogs and care for humans. Anyone who knew Judy knew she loved her Labradors and everyone else’s dogs too. The game of golf became a favorite past time later in life and Judy kept swinging well into her 80s.
After a hard look around the United States, they designed and built their dream home in Santa Fe, NM where they became a destination and welcomed old friends – to include Judy’s sacred ‘seven’ from Skidmore - and made special new friends. Judy was a stalwart volunteer at the thrift store to support the Cancer Foundation of New Mexico.
In 2013 Judy decided it was time to return to the East Coast and chose Falmouth, ME as her final home to be near her siblings. She brushed off her needlework skills and soon knit together a remarkable group of friends among her women neighbors, Chorus, Library Committee, and resale shop at Ocean View Community. She monitored the price of lobster voraciously because although Judy loved to entertain from her library of cookbooks, a boiled lobster with melted butter was her favorite.
Judy is survived by her son Geoffrey Baker, daughter-in-law Lise Hewitt and granddaughter Audrey Baker, her daughter Pamela Baker-Masson, son-in-law Christian Masson and grandson Philippe Masson, her brother Jerome Fletcher and wife Holly Fletcher, her sister Jessica-Jean Fletcher, her sister-in-law Judy Fletcher, and her nieces Tanya Fletcher, Kara Fletcher, Laura Buck and nephew Scott Fletcher along with many ‘chosen’ family – her friends around the world. She is predeceased by her husband George Bruce Baker, her brother Jeffrey Fletcher and his son Erik Fletcher, and her parents Robert and Marjorie Fletcher.
Gracious to all, Judy will be deeply missed.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Maine Audubon, Planned Parenthood Federation of America or Hospice of
Southern Maine.
Online condolences may be expressed below.
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