Daniel O. Baker was born on September 16, 1929, in Sacramento, California. Both his parents came from pioneer families. His father was from Newberg, Oregon and his mother was from Battleground, Washington. Daniel grew up in the Vacaville/Marysville, California area where his father taught Biology and his mother worked as a nurse.

Dad loved to build model airplanes, so much so that his father eventually built a small house behind the family home so that Dad could build and make messes to his heart’s content. In the summers Dad would travel up to the Baker brother’s family farm outside of Newberg to help out.

He graduated from Yuba City High School. Following high school, he attended the University of Washington for a year. After transferring to UC Berkeley, he finished his accounting degree. He met his future wife, Paticia A. Woodward, through his father who was a professor at Yuba College. His father told him about one of his female assistants who was beautiful as well as being so, so smart and the magic happened. They married in November of 1953.

After graduating from UC Berkely, General Electric Company recruited Dad. He and Mom moved to the very small and secretive community of Richland, Washington, where they both lived until their deaths. Because of his security clearance, Dad never talked about his work. We had many wild speculations about what he actually did down there at the Federal Building or out on the Hanford Reservation, but he never satisfied our curiosity. He did some pioneering work as computers were being developed and won an award for helping to write code for the dedicated computers to also run accounting programs.

Dad loved nature and outdoor activities. Skiing, camping, fishing, and hiking were some of his favorite pastimes. He loved to tell stories of skiing in northern California and hiking in Yosemite. Dad said his father was right when he said, “Yosemite was the most beautiful place in the world”. In Washington, Dad loved to take his kids camping at Ohanapecosh. Some of his favorite hikes were the Silver Falls Trail, Dewey Lake Trail or just about any trail at Paradise.

Dan lost his wife Pat on February 5, 2022. He continued to live at home with the help of some amazing caregivers, most notably Monica, who we thank from the bottom of our hearts for the care she gave both Mom and Dad. After Mom died, she provided wonderful care and fun for our quirky dad.

Pat and Dan had five children, Sue (Dale Moe), Julie (Kevin Cedergreen), Loni, Janet (Henry Strom) and Mike (Michelle Thomas). He is survived by all of his children, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren (with two more on the way). They all loved Grandpa Dan! We know you are ‘just over the hill’ not far away. Love you, Dad!

There will be a graveside gathering on September 8th at 10:00 a.m. at Einan’s at Sunset. A Celebration of Life will be held at Central United Protestant Church at a future date.