OBIT – Rev. James Baker

MISSION – Rev. James B. “Santiago” Baker, 76, passed away on, Friday, July 27, 2018, at his home in Mission.

Rev. Baker was born on March 22, 1942, in Derby, Conn. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1960 to 1963. He married Maxine Kay Baker from Saginaw, Mich., on May 24, 1963. He graduated from Bethany Nazarene College, in Bethany, Okla., with a bachelor’s degree in theology in 1968. He and his wife pastored a church in Purcell, Okla., for six years and then served as missionaries in Mexico and Guatemala and ministering in 14 other countries.

Survivors include his wife; children, Mark Baker, Paul Baker and Deborah Molina; sisters, Virginia Baker and Elizabeth Baker; and five grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Dorothy Lee Mitton and James B. Baker, and his brothers, Eugene Baker and Robert Baker.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, Aug. 2, from 4 to 9 p.m. with a 7 p.m. prayer service at Virgil Wilson Mortuary in Mission. A funeral service will be on Friday, Aug. 3, at 11 a.m. at Virgil Wilson. Burial follows at the RGV Veterans Cemetery in Mission.