Penny Baker

Penny Baker was born September 4, 1949 to Martha Jane Jones Riley and James Andrew Riley II at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Elizabethton, Tennessee. She joined two older brothers Larry Wayne (b. 1937) and James Andrew III (b. 1939). The family lived on Second Street in the city. Penny’s father worked at Bemberg Corporation and retired from there. Her mother was a substitute teacher and homemaker.

In 1952, the family built a home on 3 acres in the country near Elizabethton.

As a girl, Penny attended Oak Street Baptist Church in Elizabethton. She was baptized when she was 9 and a half. Penny attended elementary and high school in Happy Valley, TN. She graduated high school in 1967.

Penny attended East Tennessee State University for almost a year but then took a job in 1968 at Sperry Univac in Bristol, TN. She worked at Sperry Univac for almost 10 years as a secretary. In 1977 she bid on a job in Drafting Dept. which involved computer-aided drafting. Penny moved to Texas in 1978 and began working at Rockwell International. She never forgot the interview. As the HR person read over her application, they said “I have no idea what you do, but I know of one guy who might.” That guy was Dave Miller. He told HR to send Penny over immediately. He hired her on the spot. Penny worked in computer aided drafting for 13 years at Rockwell International.

In 1990, after a layoff, Penny took a trip to Maui, Hawaii with her good friends Sue and Audie. After returning from Hawaii, Penny took a job working with printed circuit boards at Cuplex in Garland, TX. After 9 years, Penny accepted a new job at FUJITSU in Richardson, TX and was there for almost two years. Following another round of layoffs, Penny returned to work at Rockwell/Alcatel. She worked there for 6 years before being laid off again. Penny accepted consulting job at Eltek-Valere for 3 months and then all contract workers were laid off just before Christmas. With the downturn in economy she was able to retire at age 62.

In her own words, Penny “met the love of her life”, Rick Baker, at The Heights Baptist Church and married there Oct. 7, 2005. Rick and Penny celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, spending time visiting historical sites and taking in the natural beauty.

Penny and Rick volunteered for 14 years at Appletree Assisted Living and for 2 years at Feed My Starving Children both located in Richardson.

Penny is survived by her brothers Wayne (and Kathy) Riley, Jim (and Dottie) Rile, eight wonderful nephews and nieces: Mike (Cheryl) Riley, Josh (Caroline) Riley, Jubal (Kathy) Riley, Mardi (Mike) West. Sweet great-nephews and nieces: Oliver, Samuel, Faith, Lily, Andy, Mark, Sean, Graham, and Delaney. Penny found special joy and family in Rick’s children Mary and Brewer, Erick and Liz, Jennie and Matt.

Penny leaves behind a large community of friends that have become family over the years.