Ken Baker passed away on December 29, 2024, at the Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte with family by his side. He was born in Salida in 1932 to Earl Baker and Selma (Forsbeck) Baker. He was one of eight children.
Ken grew up in Salida and graduated from Salida High School. He joined the Navy and served in Annapolis during the Korean War. After the War Ken moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a short while; upon leaving there he decided he wanted to become an attorney and attended University of Colorado.
He moved to Alamosa where he was an attorney for quite a few years. After that he moved to Glenwood Springs and Aspen where he worked in title insurance. Ultimately, Ken moved back to his beloved Salida where he practiced law.
Ken was Chaffee County attorney for 25 years, and in 1977 he was one of the members of the water community instrumental in the establishment of the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District. He was the District’s first attorney and general manager. Ken continued to work in the district as an attorney and consultant until he retired in 2023. On February 8, 2024, Ken was given the great honor of having the Enterprise building in Salida renamed after him as the Ken Baker Water Enterprise Building.
Ken was a member of the Colorado Bar Association and the Colorado Bar Foundation as well as the Colorado State Affairs Committee.
He was a runner well into his 60s and always enjoyed golfing with family and friends. The great outdoors is the place he loved to be, whether fishing, hunting, roping or just finding time to sit and enjoy his family.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Selma, his five brothers and his daughter Ann. He is survived by his wife Linda and five children: Laura (Jim Carpenter), Scott Baker (Shasta), Bonny McLoud, Tressa (Bryan) Smith, Shane Fowler, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, brothers Melvin (Ceci) Baker and Keith (Frankie) Baker, and sister Earleen McCoy.
Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, January 10, at the Presbyterian Church in Salida. Arrangements are with Lewis and Glenn Funeral Home.
