Baker, Robert T.

Bob Baker

March 3, 2016

The spirit that was Bob Baker left this world on March 3, 2016 in Fort Myers, FL. His sense of humor propelled him through his lifetime, and attracted his wife, Dorothy Ann (Volpe) Baker, for a lasting and loving marriage of 58 years. Bob's sense of humor was inherited by each of his three sons, Robert Mitchell (Susan) of Rochester, WA; Christopher Thayne (Janine and their two children, Maggie and Sam) of Gig Harbor, WA and James Gregory of Hilliard, OH.

Bob was bo in Sabina, OH, on January 5, 1930, as he told everyone he met so that they would remember to celebrate his birthday on that date. He graduated as class president of Wilmington High School in 1948. During the Korean Conflict he served as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force.

He attended college at The Ohio State University and was a lifelong fan of the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals. Needless to say there was always room in his heart for the Ohio State Buckeyes. At Ohio State he eaed a degree in joualism. He became the first professional employee of the newly-founded Ohio School Boards Association where he served as editor of The OSBA Joual. He doubled as a lobbyist for both the OSBA and the Buckeye Association of School Administrators. He attended night classes at the Franklin Law School of Capital University and received his Juris Doctorate Degree in 1959.

He later became a partner in the Columbus law firm of Means, Bichimer, Burkholder and Baker, where he authored Baker's Ohio School Law Guide. He was nationally recognized as "the father of school law" and became the second president of the National Council of School Attoeys. Bob served as adjunct professor of school law at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, after which he retired to enjoy the warm weather and laid-back life of Fort Myers, FL.

He was predeceased by his parents, Robert Edgar and Nancy (Freeland) Baker. He was proud of being an only child, saying his parents believed "when you've achieved perfection on your first try, why court disaster?"

Burial at Arlington National Cemetery will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to donate in memory of Bob Baker to the Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer's Resource Center, 12468 Brantley Commons Ct., Ft. Myers, FL 33907, The Ohio State University Foundation, 1480 West Lane Avenue, Columbus, OH 43221 or Hope Hospice, 9470 Healthpark Circle, Fort Myers, FL, 33908. Friends may sign the guest book at www.horizonfunerals.com.

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