Kansas City, MO: Larry Gene Baker, 89, of Kansas City, MO passed away February 17, 2023 at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, MO. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, March 5th, 2023 at the community center in Ridgeway, MO.
Larry was born December 27, 1933 in Ridgeway, two days before Joanne Craig, a woman he knew his entire life, the woman he would marry on January 12, 1952. After serving honorably in the Army in Korea, Larry and Joanne lived in Council Bluffs, IA briefly before settling in Independence, MO. Independence is where they raised their four children and made many friends. Larry worked as a clerk for the U.S. Postal Service, retiring in 1988. Larry and Joanne were married for 52 years, until her death in 2004. He found love again and married Mary Lou Forbes who survives at the home. Larry and Mary Lou spent many years wintering in Texas and enjoyed their retirement until Larry’s health made the travel difficult.
Larry was a talented, self-taught musician, playing the piano and steel guitar by ear. He loved to sing. When he was a teenager, he and his two younger sisters performed as a group at local venues around Ridgeway. When his kids were young, The Baker Family sang at several local churches. He was a frequent accompanist at his Texas retirement community, since he could play nearly any song and didn’t need to read music to do so.
Larry was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Belva (Cook) Baker, his first wife Beverly Joanne (Craig) Baker, their daughter Lorrie Elizabeth (Baker) Jones, sisters Maxine, Hazel, Anna Lee, and Beatrice, and brothers Howard (Bud) and Gerald (Pude).
Survivors include his second wife, Mary Lou Forbes of the home, sister Zoe Nell Scott of Ridgeway, MO, his sons Randall and wife Eileen (Kansas City, MO), Robert and wife Yelena (Lincoln, NE), David and wife Angela (Independence, MO), son-in-law Michael Jones and wife Debbie (Garden City, MO), grandchildren Luke, Anna, Sarah, Daja, Larry, Alison, Alayna, Dawson, and great-grandson Malakai, and stepchildren Terry (Annette), Tammy (Todd), Debbie, and Glen. He also had numerous nieces and nephews that loved him and will miss him dearly.