Ray L. Baker

Ray Littrell Baker died peacefully in the care of Suncoast Hospice Woodside on Monday June 20, 2011. The only son of John W. & Bertha Baker (Kingsport, TN), Ray was born March 10, 1923 in Hiltons, VA. His sister, Juanita Baker Carmack of McLean VA, preceded him in death in 2009. Ray survived polio as a child and went on to attend Dobyns Bennett High School/Kingsport TN and the University of Tennessee/Knoxville before enlisting in the US Army Air Force in World War II. He served as a radio operator aboard a B-25 in flights over the South Pacific. After the service, Ray completed his education at UT through the G-I Bill and briefly taught 7th grade at Church Hill Middle School/Kingsport TN. He married Rebecca (Becky) Current in 1959 while working for Associated Transport. The couple moved to Columbus GA in 1961 where their first son, Ray Biff Baker, was born. They purchased Baker Mayflower Moving in Savannah GA in 1965. A second son, Michael Kelly Baker, was born in Savannah in 1969. Ray purchased St. Pete Mayflower Moving & Storage in 1975, moving his family to St. Petersburg the following year. He served as a board member for the Mayflower Warehousemen's Association and the Florida Movers & Warehousemen's Association. He also joined the Kiwanis Club of St. Petersburg in 1980. Two years after the death of his wife Becky in 1997, Ray retired from the daily operations of St. Pete Moving & Storage. He remained as an officer of the board and consultant to the firm, now run by his sons Biff and Mike. His sole grandchild, Mya Kelly Baker, was born in December 2003, the day after Ray married childhood acquaintance Lynn Chadwell Baker. The marriage lasted seven years. Ray was an avid life-long tennis player, even after surgery to place artificial knees in both legs. He frequently played at the St. Pete Tennis Center. A charter season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ray enjoyed sports of all kids - especially University of Tennessee collegiate athletics. He is survived by son Ray Biff Baker and his wife Ann Miller Baker; son Michael Kelly Baker, his wife Wendy Crippen Baker and granddaughter Mya Kelly Baker. Visitation to take place at 1 PM, Friday June 24th at Anderson McQueen Funeral Home, 2201 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. in St. Petersburg FL, with service to follow at 2 PM. Graveside services will be conducted at Oak Hill Cemetery in Kingsport TN Monday June 27th at 3 PM. In lieu of flowers, family requests that donations in honor of Ray Baker be made to Suncoast Hospice Foundation, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760