Maurice James Baker

Maurice “Maury” James Baker, 84, of Hot Springs Village passed away Sunday, February 19, 2023. Born to the late Thomas Edward Baker and Helen Ida (Ruotsala) Baker in Lake Forest, Illinois on June 22, 1938, Maury was also preceded in death by siblings Eileen Jeri Baker Sheppard Meyer and Thomas Edward Baker. 

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Barbara; sons Ryne D. Baker of Houston and Jefre T. Baker of Atlanta; grandson, Ryan J. Baker; granddaughters Nicole Baker Hodges, Britney Baker Shore and Mackenzie Baker Marshall; and great-grandchildren Robert James “R.J.”, Hunter, and Stella Shore, Sadie Marshall, and Austin Hodges. He was loved and respected and will be greatly missed.

Maury received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque and an MST&AM from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. He worked 32 years for The Boeing Company, participating in, among other projects, the Saturn V development for the Apollo Mission to the Moon. He and Barbara moved to Hot Springs Village in 1995 and found a wonderful life and home in Arkansas. Maury was active in the Arkansas Audubon Society, the Arkansas Native Plant Society, and the Halberg Ecology Camp Committee. He was a ten year Volunteer Firefighter for the Hot Springs Village Fire Department.

There will be no public service, but a quiet family gathering as he had wished.