Frances Baker, age 86, died peacefully in her Breton Woods apartment on the morning of Sunday, January 15. Frances is survived by her children, Dawn (Kurt) Faasse, Dwight (Tamara), Dave (Becky), and Dan (Marne), some great and many even greater grandchildren, and Sassy Frances, her impetuous and less-than-great cat. She was married to Richard, her husband of 64 years until his passing in December 2021.

Frances fled her Iowa childhood setting as a teen, climbing into a carload of students bound eastward for Calvin College. She arrived in Grand Rapids with no lodging plans and cajoled Calvin administrators into accepting her into the freshman class. There she met her future husband on a double date, with the pairing arrangement resolved by a coin toss that Richard allegedly won. Soon raising a young family in the Great Lake State, Frances tenaciously ensured that all her children would learn to float before they could walk, although her grown sons later verified that Frances herself would sink when dropped into Lake Michigan. Once safely ashore and concluding eventually that none of her children planned to earn a seminary degree, Frances enrolled at Calvin Theological Seminary at the age of 56. With a masters degree in hand, she poured her passion into community outreach and racial reconciliation, serving the Eastown neighborhood of her home congregation, Calvin CRC, with a small army of church recruits. As a grandmother, Frances poured steaming Earl Grey tea and maternal love into delicate ceramic cups, hosting elaborate tea parties that included fancy homemade dresses of her own creation, and cheesy cucumber sandwiches trimmed into little wedges. Frances and Richard relaxed during their final years under the care of the epically wonderful staff of Breton Extended Care South, whose professional kindness extended even to their ungrateful cat, Sassy Frances. The Baker family is honored to direct memorial gifts in Frances Baker's name to Inner City Christian Federation or KidsHopeUSA. Visitation will be from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Friday January 20, 2023 at Calvin Christian Reformed Church, 700 Ethel St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI, as well as from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Saturday, January 21. Funeral services will be at 11:00 am Saturday, January, 21, 2023 at Calvin Christian Reformed Church.