Carol Baker

Carol Baker, formerly of Champaign and Farmer City, IL passed away December 16th, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the age of 74. Carol was born February 25th, 1947 in Bellefontaine, Ohio, the daughter of Bill Brown and Ellen Hurley. Carol was preceded in death by her husband, Rick Baker, as well as her sisters Sherry Virts and Mikela Schmidt. Carol is survived by sons Matthew of California and Nathan (Mary Beth) of Indiana and daughter Sarah (Brian) Jones of Illinois, as well as her grandchildren Ellen, Charlie, Brylan and Vivian. She is also survived by her brother, Bill Brown (Kay) of Indiana, and sisters Susie Spires and Jennifer Bidwell (Bob) of Ohio. Carol grew up in Ohio and Illinois, where she met and married Rick in 1965. They began their journey in Peoria, eventually settling in the Champaign area where they lived for 20-plus years. Carol built a career at Personal Care HMO (now Coventry Health Care), where she started with a part-time customer service position to fill the time as her children got older and finished as a Director at the company (unsurprising to anyone who knew her). After building a beautiful home in Farmer City, Illinois where they lived for several years, Carol and Rick retired and began a new adventure in Gallatin, Tennessee, where they started from scratch, building another wonderful home and quickly making life-long friends. Upon Rick's passing, Carol moved back to the midwest to be closer to family, continuing the trend of building a gorgeous house wherever she went. Carol's favorite pastimes included attending her grandchildren's events, decorating, shopping, hosting parties, baking, gardening, rooting for the Illini, and terrorizing friends and family with rides in the golf cart. Mostly she enjoyed spending time and laughing with people, loved ones and strangers alike. There will be a private burial service for family at Mount Hope Cemetery in Champaign, IL. There will also be a memorial service open to all beginning at 11 a.m. on January 8th, 2022 at Morgan Memorial Home, 1304 Regency Drive W, Savoy, IL 61874. Memorial contributions can be made to The American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) or North Side Food Pantry, 2nd Presbyterian Church, 7700 N Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46260 (giving.ncsservices.org/App/Giving/NCS-1291) in memory of Carol Baker.