Obituary: Virginia Baker

There she met her future husband, David C. Baker, who was also studying education. Upon graduation, she began teaching grade school in Puyallup, Washington, while Dave finished his degree. They were married at Ohme Garden in Wenatchee in 1952 and spent almost 70 years together prior to David’s death in 2022.

After David’s graduation in 1953, they moved to Colorado Springs, where he served in the Army at Fort Carson, Colorado, and she continued her teaching career. In 1954, he was discharged, and they moved to Hood River, where they both pursued their teaching careers, she at Central Vale and he in Odell, Oregon. During these years, they started a family and had three boys, Doug, Greg, and Chris.

David shifted careers a few years later and joined the local United Telephone Company and was later transferred to the corporate headquarters in Kansas City for two years, before being transferred to a new job with the company in Mansfield, Ohio. Virginia resumed her elementary school teaching there while raising three rambunctious boys.

Virginia also lived for a year in Washington, D.C., where David participated in a White House executive exchange program. After returning to Ohio for one year, they were transferred to Gering, Nebraska. While still raising her boys, Virginia started a new career running a local beauty shop. After a very successful time in Nebraska, they were transferred for the final time with the telephone company (renamed as Sprint) back to Hood River in 1981.

Upon David’s retirement a few years later, they moved to White Salmon, Washington, where Virginia had many friends and family. She and David also owned a home in Peoria, Arizona, where they spent 25 warm winters. They reveled in having family come visit their home on a golf course, particularly around the holiday seasons. She had many fond memories of her grandchildren riding around the neighborhood in a golf cart to see the Christmas lights adorning cactus.

In the summer of 2025, she was able to attend a large family reunion and birthday celebration in Tulalip, Washington, where she was the star of the party. Family members marveled at her sharp wit and stamina.

She was a woman of strong faith and was dedicated to supporting her husband’s career and raising her family. She is survived by her sons Doug and Chris (White Salmon) and Greg (Camus, Washington); their spouses Dana, Susan, and Barbara; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A celebration of life is being planned for late spring of this summer.

Remembrances can be made to her favorite charities: Columbia High School David & Virginia Scholarship fund, Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP), and the Big River Community Land Trust.

Columbia Gorge News, Jan. 28, 2026