Dr. Gary D. Baker, 77, died on November 22, 2024 at home in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. He had the biggest heart of everyone who knew him, but it was too weak to carry him to the older age he deserved. He leaves behind a legacy of kindness and zest for life, and a heartbroken family.
Gary was born on October 29, 1947 to Lona (Shipman) and Bennie Baker, 10 years after the birth of his sister Jackie. He had a humble and ornery childhood in Independence, Missouri. After graduating from Truman High School in 1965 and Baker University in 1969, he married Nancy (Misenhelter) in June 1969 and they settled in Overland Park, Kansas. They had two kids, Amy and Seth, whose childhoods were filled with their dad coaching their multiple sports, leading Scouting adventures and driving them 1,000s of miles on long and winding roadtrips (stopping at most historical markers and buffalo jumps along the way). Their most fond memories were spent at Pin-Akers, the cabin and lake property they owned with dear friends, Walt and Nancy Pinnell.
Gary was a proud medical corpsman in the US Army National Reserves during the Vietnam War. His early career led him to wanting to help children and those in need, and then a board took a chance on an eager young man to lead the Crittenton Center. He would develop the children’s psychiatric hospital and residential treatment program from its early days near the Plaza to its legacy campus and sprawling acreage near Longview Lake for the next 18 years. Crittenton grew to be one of the premier psychiatric children’s hospitals in the Midwest, serving 3,000 children and families in its clinical program and more than 53,000 in prevention programs annually. He was a servant leader in every sense of the word, and his lifelong friendships with his “Crit” crew is testament to that. He believed in the healing power of nature, and dedicated his life and work to making kids’ lives better.
After leaving Crittenton, he became the Director of Youth Development for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and then Director of Community Building Initiatives, Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor for the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Missouri Kansas City. The proudest gig of his career was his community work at UMKC helping nonprofits develop systems of change. He loved solving problems and teaching alongside Dr. David Renz, Beth Smith and Mayor Peggy Dunn. His board memberships and service work are too many to name but included the National Florence Crittenton Mission, Parents as Teachers, Heart of America United Way, the Junior League of Kansas City, and The First Tee of Greater Kansas City. He was a proud Eagle Scout, Firebuilder in the Tribe of Micosay, and proud Scouting volunteer and merit badge counselor.
He leaves a long legacy of public service, social justice, and a guiding hand in building and growing Kansas City’s rich and diverse nonprofit community. For a guy who was told by a high school counselor to forgo college and become a welder like his dad, he was immensely proud to earn a Master’s in Public Administration in 1975 from UMKC, and a PhD in Public Affairs and Urban Leadership in 1999 from UMKC. He was a lifelong learner and spent his later years with his nose in books with a scotch and water nearby. After Nancy’s death in 2006, he married Patty Coleman and they went on great travels together and enjoyed retirement with their numerous grandkids.
He was happiest in a field in blaze orange, on a dock putting worms on the line for kids, and on the cabin porch talking politics and solving all the world’s problems. No greater role did he relish than that of being Dede. He was a great mentor and friend to all who knew him, and made every person feel seen and heard. He never knew a stranger.
He is survived by his wife Patty Coleman Baker, of the home; children Amy and Rick Brewer (Lee’s Summit); Seth and Kate Baker (Overland Park, Kansas); stepchildren Patrick and Kegan Coleman (Shawnee, Kansas); Dorey and Jamie Rutland (Lake Forest, California); and his beloved grandchildren Reece, Lainey, Preston, Hunter, Ryder, Ellie, Nathan, Ethan, Jordan, Addy, Oliver, Myles, Amelia and Scarlett. He is also survived by brother-in-law Steve Misenhelter, brother-in-law Don Bell, nephews Derek and Tague Herman, great nephews Jacob and Colin, and great niece Shaye. He is preceded in death by his mother Lona Baker, father Bennie Baker, first wife Nancy Baker, and sister A. Jackie Baker Bell.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, December 14 from 2-5 pm at El Torreon KC, 3101 Gilham Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri 64109.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor can be made to: Heart of America Council BSA, The First Tee of Greater Kansas City, or any progressive cause or charity you know he would have supported. The one silver lining in his untimely death is that he didn’t have to live through the next presidency. Lucky man.
Arrangements made by Langsford Funeral Home.
