Wallace Baker

In lieu of flowers, Wally’s family will donate memorials received to his favorite charities, St. Joseph’s Indian School (stjo.org) and Covenant House (covenanthouse.org).

Click to View Wally's Funeral Service Live Streamed

Wallace R. Baker, 96, of Miller, passed away peacefully Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at the Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital, Miller, surrounded by family.

Funeral Mass with military honors will be 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 2, 2023, at St. Ann's Catholic Church, Miller, with Father Paul Josten, celebrant.  Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. prior to the funeral.  Burial will be at St. Ann's Cemetery, Miller.

Wallace was born on May 30, 1926, in St. Cloud, MN to William (Buff) Joseph Baker and Regina Katherine (Weidner) Baker. In 1927, the Baker family moved from St. Cloud to a farm north of St. Lawrence, SD. Wally’s education began in 1932 at a small country school, but by year’s end, the Baker family had moved to what had seemed, at least to a young boy, ‘a brand-new house’ located just southeast of St. Lawrence. In 1937, he moved on from country school to attend school in St. Lawrence. Wally spent every morning herding cows from the pastures to be milked before he could head off to school or perform other farm chores. He graduated from St. Lawrence High School in 1944, lettering in football and basketball. After high school, he continued to work the family farm and milk cows twice a day, every day. He also worked as a hired hand for several neighboring farms for a dollar a day. By 1951, Wally was farming one-thousand acres of land by himself. Life was good, he remembered; he owed no one a dime, had a new car, and was farming, which, as anyone who knew Wally realized, was a life-long passion.

When war upon the Korean Peninsula broke out (Summer 1950), Wally immediately signed up for military service. On Christmas Eve, 1951 he reported for duty with the U.S. Navy. Wallace spent the next four years training and deploying, visiting ports of call in Japan, Hong Kong, and across Southeast Asia. He served aboard the U.S.S. Cavallaro, achieving the rank of chief petty officer, specializing in control of the ship’s weapon systems. He honorably left the Navy in December 1955, returning to SD in early 1956 when he began to look to once again practice farming. Unfortunately, the one-thousand acres he had farmed earlier was no longer available. Wally persevered, never missing a beat, reestablishing farming operations near Burdette, SD, northeast of St. Lawrence in Hand County.

On October 5, 1957, Wallace married Joan Patricia Vosburgh in Miller, SD. Together they enjoyed a 43 year marriage until Joan passed away on March 25, 2001. Wally and Joan raised five children. Wally continued farming and ranching, eventually bringing the family back to the same house that, in 1932, had looked ‘brand-new’ to him. From 1957 to November 2022, he farmed, bowled, golfed as much as he could, played cards, fished, travelled, and read voraciously, including books on astronomy, mathematics, history, and many more subjects. His sharp sense of humor was second to none, as can be attested to by all who knew Wally. He attended St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Miller for most of his life.

On December 27, 2003, Wallace married Joy Ann Prangley in Miller, SD. As recently as the Fall of 2022, one could find Wally out in the fields in one of his sons’ combines or tractors, working ten plus hours a day.

He is survived by his wife Joy, his children; William (Eve) of Queen Creek, AZ and Hermosa, SD; Caroline (Jim) McGillvrey of Wolsey, SD; Michael (Cherry) of rural St. Lawrence, SD; Christopher of rural St. Lawrence, SD; John (Connie) of Ellicott City, MD; step children: Jan Delgado (Brian Gonthier) of St. Petersburg, FL and Todd (Karla) Prangley of Plankinton, SD; sister, Marion Jorgenson of Huron, SD; and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Wally was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Joan; his father William “Buff” Baker; his mother Regina (Weidner) Baker; his father-in-law, Lee Fugate; his mother-in-law, Sigrid “Bonnie” Fugate; and brother-in-law, Don Jorgenson.

Reck Funeral Home of Miller has been entrusted with Wally's arrangements.