Charles "Chuck" Stanley Baker Jr.

Charles “Chuck” Stanley Baker, Jr. was born on Feb. 26, 1957 in Flagstaff, Arizona to Charles and Laurie Baker. He was the oldest of six siblings. He and his family moved to Maryvale during his early childhood then lived in Scottsdale through his high school years. He and his wife, Lori, were high school sweethearts, meeting during their junior year at Paradise Valley High School.

His very first job was delivering The Arizona Republic newspaper early in the morning as a young teenager. He honed his culinary skills working at various restaurants in Scottsdale, including his famous lasagna. While attending Arizona State University, he worked at Howard Johnson’s hotel as a bellman and airport shuttle driver, and also worked in the ASU computer lab.

Chuck and Lori were married on May 20, 1979 and went to Hawaii on their honeymoon. In 1981, Chuck graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology.

His first full-time job was working for TriComm as a custom software developer. In 1984, Chuck created his own business, Custom Software Consulting, and continued to write custom software for customers and repair their computers. After standard software became readily available, there no longer was a market for custom software so Chuck looked for a new career. In 2006, Chuck became a computer lab instructor at Sweetwater Elementary School in Glendale, and all the kids in the school from kindergarten to eighth grade went to his computer lab regularly. Chuck also created MStart, which was a video production club for seventh and eighth graders. They came before school to record the morning announcements. Chuck was very well-liked by his students, teachers and the principal. Lori went to Chuck’s end-of-the-year breakfasts with teachers and they gushed over Chuck. He even went to their homes to help them set up their personal computers. He retired in 2017.

Chuck’s greatest joy was his family. He loved family get-togethers and cooking with his daughters, Jennifer and Julie, and grandkids, Joseph and Emma. They clearly inherited his culinary genes! Chuck loved watching black-and-white reruns of “Perry Mason,” “Bewitched,” “Andy Griffith” and “Gomer Pyle.” He adored TV murder mysteries like “Murder She Wrote.” Among his favorite songs were “Desperado” and “Stairway to Heaven.” His favorite movies included “Airplane” and “Blazing Saddles.” Chuck was a jokester and loved to make people laugh. Each year at the Larson Family Reunion, Chuck was the emcee for the White Elephant game. He was an avid reader and took his Kindle wherever he went. Chuck had a passion for game shows, and he was the reason that Julie and her best friend, Donovan, were on the “Wheel of Fortune.” Yes, they won! Chuck loved trivia and could answer just about any question. He was fascinated with Arizona history, especially the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine, and the mysteries of the universe.

Chuck enjoyed going camping with Jennifer, Josh, Emma and Joe, and annual Father’s Day trips to San Diego, Flagstaff and other fun places. He had a special bond with his grandson, Jackson, and his face would light up as they smashed toy cars together. Chuck loved being with his buddies on the annual Tom Tingle Tennis Classic trip (named for his dear friend, Tommy TIngle) to Las Vegas for several years.

Chuck and Lori had many dogs and cats over the years. Their dog, Callie, was his shadow and followed him everywhere and their cat, Ferguson, would crawl onto his belly every night and take a nap while we watched TV. Buddy especially loved taking naps with his daddy several times a day.

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Chuck is survived by his wife, Lori; daughters, Jennifer Marshall and Julie Shanahan; son-in-laws, Josh Marshall and Andy Shanahan; grandsons, Joseph Marshall and Jackson Shanahan, granddaughter, Emma Marshall; mother, Laurie Currey; brothers, Rick, Terry, Cory and Shane; sister, Sheri; adopted sister, Annamarie; aunts and uncles, and cousins.

Chuck has left a wonderful legacy to his children and grandchildren, and will be deeply missed.