Anne P. Baker

Anne Priest Baker died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday morning, March 10, 2009, following a brief illness in Nashville, Tennessee where she had been living for the past five years. Anne was born in 1919 in Norfolk, Virginia, the youngest of six children of Mary and Fenton Priest. Anne graduated from Randolph Macon Women's College in 1941 and in 1944 married James Baker. In 1946 Anne and James moved to Madisonville so that he could take over management of the family's department store, Baker and Hickman. They lived in Madisonville for over 50 years. \
Anne had a genuine commitment to the Madisonville community. She was a lifelong supporter of fine arts and played a key leadership role in founding the Community Improvement Foundation, which she chaired for many years. With her leadership the Foundation raised over $500,000 which was matched by the state and used to build the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts. The Anne P. Baker Gallery at the Fine Arts Center was established to commemorate her valuable contributions to the Center. Before her work on the Fine Arts Center, Anne served for many years on the Madisonville's Community Concert Association board helping to bring classical music, ballet and other fine arts to Madisonville. Anne also loved to paint, especially oil portraits, in her spare time. \
Anne also was very involved in the schools, serving for many years as the PTA president or vice-president for the Hopkins County schools that her children attended. Concerned about the significant needs of the local schools, in 1959 Anne started the Save Our Schools (SOS) Campaign and, with help of her brother-in-law F.O. Baker and other concerned community members, raised community awareness about the poor funding of the Hopkins County Schools. The drive led to the residents voting to a vitally needed increase in tax support for the schools. Because of this and other efforts on behalf of the public schools, Anne received the Woman of the Year award from the Madisonville Lion's Club in 1962. \ \
Anne was a member of the First Baptist Church in Madisonville for 50 years and for many of those she was a Sunday School teacher. She especially enjoyed teaching young adults. She spent hours preparing her lessons, researching many historical and interpretative sources on the weeks Bible text. Many of her former students continued to seek her Biblical insights years after they had been in her class. She was an inspiration in many of her students lives. \ \
Anne's family was the main focus of her life and she was a much beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Before her marriage Anne was a junior-high science teacher and she brought that knowledge and passion to parenting and grand-parenting. Her children and grandchildren loved going on nature walks with her and learning about the plants and animals that they encountered. \ \
Anne's commitment to family and community were recognized in 1972 when she was selected as the Kentucky Mother of the Year. When asked to summarize her philosophy of parenting she said: 'The most important thing is to give love, to give them your time and to develop early a sense of responsibility and pride in a job well done. ' \ \
Anne is preceded in death by her husband James G. Baker, her father Fenton Furr Priest, her mother Mary Augusta Bull, her brothers Fenton Priest and Walter Irving Priest, and sisters Mary Voight, Margaret Wilkinson, and Elizabeth Stevenson. She is survived by sons James G. Baker, Jr., William Randolph Baker, and daughter Mary Holland Benin. She is also survived by six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and a large number of nieces and nephews. \
Funeral services will be held at the Barnett-Strother Funeral Home on Friday, March 13 at 11:00 a.m. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Thursday, March 12 between 4 and 6:30 p.m., and on Friday between 10:00 and 11:00. Burial will follow at Odd Fellows Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts, 2000 College Drive, Madisonville, KY 42431. \