Elmer C "Rusty" Baker

Elmer Clyde “Rusty” Baker, age 94, shed his earthy body and arrived fully restored in the presence of the Lord.  Husband, Dad, RaRa, Grandpa, PopPop, brother, uncle and friend, there will be a missing piece in the life of all who loved him.  Elmer was a 1946 graduate of Norton High School and immediately left with several high school buddies to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina serving at the end of WWII as proud Marines.  After serving his country, Elmer worked at some Akron/Barberton factories until he attended Hammel Business School majoring in accounting.  The path in Finance led him to careers at Bridgewater Machine and Akron Packing Company serving as Executive VP, Treasurer.  Rusty found the love of his life, Rosemary Fleming, in his Sherman neighborhood and they married in 1953. Rusty and Rosemary were just short of their 69th wedding anniversary on August 14th.  He was the proud father of daughters, LeeAnn and Leslie Kay whose greatest memories were time spent in the car travelling the United States.  He made sure his girl’s education extended through the summertime camping and road tripping through many states and National Parks.  His family expanded as he entrusted his girls to their life partners and they started their own families, including the gift of four grandchildren.  Rusty was happiest when he was working on a project or in his yard making it a beautiful part of his Wadsworth neighborhood.  There wasn’t a job that he wouldn’t tackle. Elmer was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Zenna Zane Baker, brother Claude Baker, brothers-in-law, Ralph Spencer and Bob Clemens, sister-in-law, June Smith and son-in-law, Tim Neal. Left to celebrate his entrance to heaven and continue the walk to see him again in Jesus’ eternal home are his wife, Rosemary, daughters LeeAnn Neal (Barberton, OH) and Leslie and John Cenicola (St. Simon’s Island, GA), grandchildren, Brandon and Ethan Neal, and Kaitlyn and Lauren Cenicola. Surviving extended family include sisters, Hazel Spencer and Zenna Clemens, sister-in-law, Marge Baker, and brother-in-law, Dave Smith, many nephews, nieces and friends as well as very special family friends, Howdy and Cheryl Hill. Elmer will be buried at Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman, OH.  Family and friends will gather to celebrate his life at a memorial luncheon.

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