Eleanor "Ellie" Jean Baker

  Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Jean Baker, 93, surrounded by family stepped into the next life on May 22, 2018.

  Ellie, born June 7, 1924, was the daughter of George and Margaret (Mayer)Eger.  She had an event-filled childhood growing up surrounded by a large, close knit family  in Leonia, New Jersey.  Leonia, located on the west end of the George Washington Bridge, had quick access to New York City.  It was in Leonia that she met her future husband and love of her life, Fred L. Baker, Jr., son of Fred and Jesse (Jenner) Baker of Topeka, Kansas; grandson of C.N. and Adelia (Bogart) Baker of Wamego, Kansas.

  Fred and Ellie were married on October 14, 1944.  They had five children. After living for 20 years in Colorado, in 1972 they returned to an area rich in the Baker Family History and lived on property north of Wamego.

  In 1984, after the death of Fred, Ellie built a second life in the friendship and support of her many friends in Westmoreland, Manhattan, and Wamego.  She was active in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, a continuous champion for women’s rights, equality and opportunity for everyone.  She was a defender of Mother Nature, a protector of animals, had an expansive knowledge in subjects from religion to politics to history to the exotic or scorned.  She was always ready to question conventional thought.  Ellie will be most recently and best remembered in the company of Barney, her gentle dog, bringing happiness, excitement and challenge everywhere she went.

  Funeral services for Ellie will be at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 2, 2018 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Wamego, KS.  Burial will follow in the Wamego City Cemetery.  Visitation will be from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Friday, June 1^st at the Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego.  To celebrate Eleanor’s love of bright colors the family has asked loved ones and friends to wear bright colored clothing.  In lieu of flowers, her family requests donation be made to the St Luke’s Episcopal Church Window Restoration Fund, and may be left in care of Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego, P.O. Box 48, 66547.