DAVID ARTHUR BAKER

BAKERSFIELD — David Arthur Baker, age 79, of Bakersfield, Vt., died Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, at his home following a battle with Huntington’s disease.

Born in 1945 in Bennington and a proud descendent of Green Mountain Boy Remember Baker, Dave was the son of Stephen Baker and Margaret Knight Baker. He grew up in Middlebury, where he worked with his father and his brother Peter in the family business, The Bakery Lane Bake Shop.

A member of the Middlebury High School class of 1963, Dave went on to graduate from Johnson State College in 1971 with a B.A. in Elementary Education. He became a teacher at Bakersfield Elementary School, where he worked for 24 years, most often with the third and fourth grades, and was a principal of the Common School. He is fondly remembered for his love of author Roald Dahl, reading his books to generations of local children.

Dave founded the Jay Peak Ski Program, conducted a Road Runners Club to prepare participants for the June Dairy Day Milk Run, sponsored movie nights and sledding parties, built skating rinks and Halloween haunted houses, and sponsored a Bike-A-Thon each spring that raised thousands of dollars for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

An accomplished carpenter, marksman, and sailor, he was also a longtime member of the Enosburg Falls Town Band and served as Co-Scoutmaster of Troop 878 of Enosburg.

For thirty years, Dave was a proud member of the Vermont Army National Guard, providing food service and playing the saxophone in the 40th Army Band.

Dave is survived and lovingly remembered by his wife, Kathleen of Bakersfield; son David (Elizabeth) of Chester, Conn.; stepsons Christopher Tefft (Jessica) of Colchester, Michael Tefft (Lacey) of Jericho, and Cory Tefft (Amy) of Wallingford, Ky.; two granddaughters, Margaret Catherine and Wendy Priscilla Baker; seven step-grandchildren, Hailey, Quinn, Theodore, Henry, Mason, Julie, and Isabel Tefft; and cousin Robert Marshall. Many others special to Dave include Pat and Sharon Evans, Kate Begley Baker, and Nancy Kilinski. Dave was predeceased by his parents and by his brother Peter.

Friends and family will be invited to a memorial service to honor Dave’s memory on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 11 a.m. at the United Church of Bakersfield and Fairfield in Bakersfield, Vt.

Friends wishing to remember Dave may make memorial contributions to St. Jude’s Research Hospital at stjude.org or to the Huntington’s Disease Society of America at hdsa.org.

Kathy would like to thank the many people who supported her and Dave throughout his illness, including family, friends, the UCBF, the Binter Center at UVM, Lamoille Health Cambridge, Bakersfield Emergency Response, Enosburg Ambulance, the VNA/Hospice of the SW Region, and Diane Mansfield.

Condolences, photos and favorite memories may be shared through www.gossfs.com.◊