Baker, Irvin “Lonnie” September 23, 1948 - October 11, 2020

Irvin Leon Baker, II, “Lonnie” was born on September 23, 1948, to Irvin “Leon” Baker and Ada Mae Baker on a small farm near Lowry City, Missouri.  He peacefully passed away at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, on October11, 2020, after a short bout with cancer.

He attended Lowry City Elementary and High School graduating in 1966.  He then attended Central Missouri State in Warrensburg receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in December, 1970.

While in college, he met the love of his life, Marilyn Lee Sartin, originally from Windsor, Missouri.  They were married at Sharon Baptist Church in Lowry City, Missouri, on August 8, 1970.

Soon after graduation from Central Missouri State, Lonnie was drafted into the military. After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and advanced artillery training at Fort Hood in Texas, and being one day away from leaving for Vietnam, his orders were changed and he was sent to Germany for his tour of duty. While in Germany, he was able to arrange for Marilyn to come to Germany and they lived in a small off base apartment in a nearby German town. When Lonnie had a three day or longer pass, he and Marilyn would travel all over Europe in an old VW that he had bought and which he had to hold in gear.

After the service, he and Marilyn moved to the Overland Park/Shawnee Mission area of Kansas City until they built and moved to the Cedar Creek area north of Olathe, where they lived until his death.

In October of 1980, their son, Kris was born and he was a constant joy to him and Marilyn as he attended first Shawnee Mission West and then the University of Kansas.  He was extremely proud of Kris as he engaged in his occupation as an editor and writer for several local KC magazines and weekly/monthly publications.

After Lonnie and Marilyn moved to the KC area, Lonnie first worked as a “buyer” of rolled steel for a small metal working shop.  After that, he worked as a buyer for Litton Dental products purchasing the many hundreds of parts that are used to make a dental chair.  He then was hired at Bendix (later Allied Signal and now Honeywell) as a “senior buyer” for defense equipment and munitions.  He remained on this job for over 30 years retiring in 2007.  After retirement, Lonnie and Marilyn spent the next years enjoying time with friends and family, various hobbies, working on their home and garden and traveling extensively throughout the United States and abroad.

Being raised on the farm, Lonnie maintained an interest in the farming operations conducted on a farm near Deepwater that he and Marilyn bought and those parts of the farms that he and Marilyn inherited from their respective parents.

Lonnie was saved at a revival meeting at New Hope Baptist Church in Clinton at the age of 12 and joined Sharon Baptist Church at Lowry City in 1961.  He remained an active member and supporter of the Church at Sharon until his death.

Being a caring individual, after his passing, Lonnie was a cornea donor giving the gift of sight to someone in need.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Leon and Ada Mae Baker, father-in-law and mother-in-law, Chester and Gladys Sartin, brothers-in-law, Charles Braithwait and Leon Dull, and great nephew, Riley Baker.

Lonnie is survived by his wife, Marilyn of the home, his son, Kris, of Kansas City, sisters, Sandra Braithwait and Beverly Dull, both of Lowry City, his brother and wife, J D and Candi Baker of Osceola, Missouri, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Carolyn and Glen Lee Smith of Raytown, and many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews, and many friends.

He will be missed by all that knew him.