Ethel E. Baker

Ethel E. Baker

Cedar Rapids

Ethel E. Baker, 92, a lifelong Iowan, died Monday June 19, 2023, in Cedar Rapids. A visitation will be held on Friday June 30, at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home from 1 to 3 p.m. and followed by a graveside service at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery at 3 p.m.

Ethel was born in Homestead, Iowa on Nov. 23, 1930, daughter of Adolph and Anna (Witte) Folkmann and raised on a farm in rural Benton County. (That is still family owned). She resided in Cedar Rapids her entire adult life.

Survived to adulthood after nearly drowning in a watermelon tub, narrowly missed being hit by a hay hook that fell out of the loft and falling out of a second story window while watching for her brother to come home from World War II. She married Raymond K. Baker on May 10, 1952, at St. John Lutheran Church in Keystone, Iowa. She worked at Link Belt Speeder and retired from Barron Motor Supply after many years of service.

She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, a fabulous baker and had a serious sweet tooth. Ethel was a huge fan of Iowa Men and Women’s Basketball and immensely enjoyed the women’s run to the championship game this year. Ethel loved in equal measure her immediate and extended family of siblings, nieces, nephews and in-laws. She loved many cats over the years, her grand-cat Taz and grand-dog Scout.”

Ethel enjoyed her final years living at Methwick so much, and her family appreciates the extra measures taken to care for her during the last month of her life. She will be deeply missed by the lives she touched.

She is survived by her daughters, Barbara Baker and Patty Terpkosh; sister-in-law, Helen Folkmann; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Adolf and Anna Folkmann; her husband, Raymond K. Baker; and her siblings, Herb Folkmann, Dorothy Boog, Lorena Jacobs and Norma Silhanek.

In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to Trinity Lutheran Church or the Cedar Valley Humane Society in memory of Ethel.