Joan W. Baker

Ms. Joan W. Baker, 97, of 1212 Pecan Grove Rd., passed away Friday evening, May 31, 2019, at Wills Memorial Hospital. Ms. Baker was born in Cheshire, England in 1922.She graduated from Liverpool University in 1944 with a degree in English Honors.After WW II, she left for Jamaica to teach English.There she met her future husband, the late John R. Baker.After marrying John, they emigrated to Augusta, Ga. to work at MCG (Augusta Regional Hospital) where they met their lifelong friends Dr. Sophia and Les Bamford.The foursome then went to Tufts University to work in Boston. Upon John’s retirement, they followed their friends the Bamfords to Wilkes County in 1977, and she worked at Wills Memorial Hospital until her retirement in 1985. She was a past president of the Washington Little Theatre where she worked on many plays with her best friend Bolton Lunceford. As a member of the Tignall Homemakers Club, she contributed many hours of needlepoint to the annual quilt raffle, which to her delight she did eventually win after she had retired from the club.She was also a member and teacher of Literary Volunteers in Massachusetts and Georgia. She is survived by her son, Richard W. Baker, of Woonsocket, R.I.; and bytwo daughters, Gillian M. Baker, Portland, OR, and Jennifer Baker-Landry, and husband Paul, of Washington; she also leaves two grandchildren, Mark and Michelle Landry, and numerous nieces and nephews in Great Britain. A memorial service is planned for 4:00pm Friday, June 7, 2019, at the Tignall Independence United Methodist Church with Rev. Thomas Kohlenberg officiating. Memorial contributions may be made to the Bolton Lunceford Little Theatre in Washington.