Guy O. Baker

Guy Owen Baker, Jr., 80, of Fayetteville died Saturday, June 19, 2004 at Plateau Medical Center in Oak Hill after a long illness. He was born August 8, 1923 at Chatteroy, Mingo County, WV, son of the late Ethel Mae Wilkerson Baker and Guy Owen Baker, Sr. Mr. Baker was a retired Professor of Music with 40 years service at West Virginia Institute of Technology, Montgomery, WV. He grew up in South Charleston and graduated from South Charleston High School in 1941. He received his Bachelor of Music from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. He also attended Julliard School of Music, New York City and was recipient of the Metropolitan Opera Scholarship. He was also a graduate student of University of Michigan and Teachers College, Columbia University. His professional career included singing tenor leads in opera and oratorio, as well as teaching voice and conducting. He was a member of the Oak Hill United Methodist Church and past president of the Fayetteville Rotary Club. He was preceded in death by one stepson, Mark Lawhorn. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Koontz Baker of Fayetteville; two sons, Charles Baker of Elkhart, Indiana and Brent Baker of Oak Hill; two daughters, Brenda Porter of Ft. Wayne, Indiana and Holly Mitchell of Fayetteville; two stepdaughters, Anne Lawhorn of Birmingham, Alabama and Jacqueline Souder of Seneca, South Carolina; seven grandchildren, Steven Lawhorn, Andrea Garten, Hannah Mitchell, Jared Mitchell, Kathleen Baker, Brandon Baker and Carly Baker. Services will be 1 PM Wednesday, June 23, at Oak Hill United Methodist Church with Rev. Gregory Hayes and Dr. John Sauvage officiating. Burial will be in Huse Memorial Park, Fayetteville. Friends may call from 6 until 8 PM Tuesday, June 22, at Tyree Funeral Home in Oak Hill and from 12:00 noon to service time at the church on Wednesday. Pallbearers will be James Johnson, Richard Allen, Alan Dyer, Mark Sandifer, Greg Conley and Steve Thornbury.