Barnwell (Barnie) Rhett Baker, Jr.
01/29/1936 - 11/10/2009
Barnwell (Barnie) Rhett Baker, Jr., beloved husband of Peggy Pearson Baker for forty-six years, departed this life on November 10, 2009, peacefully at his home.
A Memorial Service will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Friday, November 13, 2009, at 11:30 A.M, with the The Reverend Dr. Richard E. Sanders and the The Reverend James H. Silcox, officiating.
Mr. Baker, the son of Barnwell Rhett Baker, M.D. and Emily Scarborough Baker, was born January 29, 1936, in Charleston, SC, at Baker Sanatorium. He graduated from Christ School, Arden, NC and in 1962 received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. In the 1950’s he served aboard the radar destroyer U.S.S. Fiske, in the Mediterranean during the first Lebanon Crisis. His family moved to Asheville, NC in 1951 where he later became Chief Chemist with Gerber Baby Foods. In 1972 he moved with his wife and children to Augusta, GA establishing and being the Director of Quality Assurance at Castleberry’s Food Company. In 1990 he moved to WSRC as a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer, retiring at the end of 2005.
Mr. Baker was a founding member and officer of the CSRA Chapter of the American Society for Quality Control. An avid golfer, he was a member of West Lake Country Club for 25 years and a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for more than 37 years.
Mr. Baker was preceded in death by his parents, Barnwell Rhett Baker, MD of Charleston, SC and Emily Scarborough Baker, of Hagood, SC.
In addition to his wife, family members include his son Barnwell Rhett Baker, III, wife Sarah Everitt Baker of Augusta, GA, daughter Emily Cantrell Baker of San Diego, CA, three grandchildren, Barnwell Rhett Baker, IV, Mary Zachry Baker, and Kathryn Cantrell Baker, his sister, Mrs. William Hutson Ford (Elizabeth Baker) of Charleston, SC, nephew Richard Cantrell Yeary of Plano, TX, niece, Caroline Yeary Bailey of Charleston, SC, and his five first cousins, Archie Baker, Dr. Angus Baker, and Mary Baker Pringle of Charleston, SC, Robert Baker of Lynchburg, VA, and John Baker of Raleigh, NC.
The family would like to thank Dr. Teresa Coleman, Dr. James McLaughlin, and all the nurses and staff at The Cancer Clinic and the nurses and staff on the Fifth Floor of The Medical College of Georgia and Trinity Hospice for their love, patience, and kindness.
Honorary Pall Bearers will be his five first cousins and his faithful friends, Dr. Edward S. Porubsky and David S. Milligan.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 605 Reynolds Street, Augusta, GA 30901.
Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at
www.thomaspoteet.com