- Date Of Birth: May 19, 1930
- Date Of Death: May 12, 2021
- State: Georgia
Edna Irene Hainey Baker, age 90, entered paradise on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. She was born in Ingle, Kentucky, on May 19, 1930, and was the firstborn child of Arthur Ray Hainey and Nellie Mildred Roy Hainey.
After graduating high school in Somerset, Kentucky, Irene moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and found a job with the phone company. Irene used public transportation for getting to work and home, and she met Bernard Baker of Salem, Oregon, on one of the city buses she rode regularly. Their love grew and they married on November 1, 1952. Caring for her family was Irene’s greatest joy, and she loved being home with them, nurturing and encouraging. Although she reentered the work force briefly to support a career change for Bernie, she was a true homemaker. She delighted in cooking new foods and sewing beautiful clothes. If not busy with her family, she was enjoying her many hobbies and learning new ways to do them. Irene loved the Lord and read and studied her Bible often. She had a servant’s heart and ministered to those around her whenever and wherever she saw a need. Her faith and her joy for life were a shining light to all around her.
Irene was preceded in death by her loving husband, Bernard Dean Baker; her parents; sister Fern Floyd; brothers Murriel Haney and Harold Hainey; and grandson David Baker. She is survived by her sister Jean Stone (Kentucky); children Larry Baker and Brenda (Georgia), and Teri Goolsbee and Keith (Texas); grandchildren Lee Goolsbee and Stephanie (Texas), Andrew Goolsbee (Texas), Melissa Bynum and Connor (Texas); and one great-grandchild, Owen Goolsbee (Texas). Irene was loved by family and many friends, and though we will miss her greatly, we treasure and cherish our memories in our hearts.
