John Baker

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, he was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, as one of thirteen children where he attended Walnut Hills high school and then went on to Harvard College and Harvard Business School, where he earned his MBA.

During his years in Cambridge, he was an avid rower and started the Radcliffe college crew team from scratch and coached them all the way to represent the US in the 1973 World Championships in Moscow.

He had a prolific career in private equity, first as a managing partner at Alen Patricof Associates and subsequently started his firm Baker Capital Corp. which he ran for over twenty-five years.

He met his wife Raquel on a blind date while working for Knoll furniture in Florence, Italy. Drinks turned into dinner which then turned into dancing. As luck would have it, she was working for fashion designer Michael Volbrock and leaving on a business trip the following day and it would be weeks before they could see each other again. So John left messages and flowers at each hotel and they spoke every night until they met again for their second date back in New York City where he proposed. They married in August 1980 and were inseparable until he passed on Saturday.

A lifelong sports car enthusiast, he spent his weekends competing in Formula 1 and Le Mans support races driving Ferrari and Porsche prototypes all over the country until the age of 65 while still running his companies full time.

He is survived by his wife, his two children Alessandra and Chris Baker, and his grandson Luca Baker Jung.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

A visitation for John will be held Thursday, October 19, 2023 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 (eulogies to take place at 7pm) PM at Frank E. Campbell - The Funeral Chapel, 1076 Madison Ave., New York, NY.

A funeral service will occur Friday, October 20, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Church of St. Ignatius Layola, 980 Park Ave., New York City, NY 10028.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.frankecampbell.com for the Baker family.